A special CBI court in Kerala on Wednesday sentenced a Catholic priest and a nun who were found guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya, a teenaged nun, to life terms, ending a legal battle that dragged for close to three decades. The court sentenced Father Thomas Kottoor, 73, to life in jail for murder and trespass to commit a punishable offence and another seven years for destroying evidence. Sister Sephy, 57, was handed the life term for murder and another seven years in jail for destroying evidence. Each of them was slapped with a penalty of Rs 5 lakh under IPC Section 302 (murder) and Rs 50,000 each under IPC Section 201 (destruction of evidence).