Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai Undermines Rule Of Law With Premature Verdict On FIR Against Nuns

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has done neither his state nor his office any credit by jumping the gun on a sensitive case that demands judicial prudence, not political posturing. His comments legitimising the contents of a mere First Information Report (FIR) against two Catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal youth are not only premature but also deeply irresponsible.

Even a schoolchild knows that an FIR, by itself, carries no evidentiary weight. It is only the beginning of a legal process, not its conclusion. The job of the police is to register the FIR, investigate the allegations, and then act based on the facts unearthed. Anybody can file an FIR against anyone. That does not make the accused guilty.

At Durg railway station, when Sisters Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis were accompanying three girls from Narayanpur district to Agra for nursing training, they were accosted by Bajrang Dal activists. Without any credible evidence, these self-styled vigilantes raised the bogey of “human trafficking” and “conversion”—two phrases that today function as convenient smokescreens for targeting minorities.

The real shocker, however, is not the activists’ conduct, deplorable as it is, but the role of the state machinery. The police allowed the vigilantes to heckle, intimidate, and even manhandle the nuns and the tribal youth—right in their custody. Even after the girls’ parents clarified that their wards were going voluntarily for vocational training, the police chose to believe the mob over official statements and documents.

Then came the Chief Minister’s tweet, dripping with insinuation and devoid of facts: “This appears to be a case of human trafficking under the guise of conversion by luring,” he wrote. On what basis did he reach this conclusion? The phrase “this appears” is telling—it implies he doesn’t actually know. Yet, he was willing to broadcast his bias and thereby expose himself as a partisan.

Such statements from the state’s highest executive compromise the very notion of due process. If the Chief Minister has already declared the nuns guilty in the court of public opinion, how can the police—who report to him—conduct a fair and impartial investigation? They would feel compelled to substantiate his version rather than challenge it.

This is not mere carelessness; it is dangerous. It sends a signal to law enforcement authorities that harassing minorities—especially those who serve the poor—will earn them not censure but praise. It emboldens vigilantes and weakens the rule of law.

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The nuns may eventually be exonerated, but the trauma and indignities they are subjected to cannot be undone. No government that claims to uphold the Constitution should permit such injustice. And certainly not a chief minister who swore an oath to protect all citizens, not just those whose faith he happens to approve of.