Team News Riveting
Kochi, April 5
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notice to former Bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese Franco Mulakkal in the State government’s appeal against his acquittal in the nun rape case.
A Division Bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran admitted the appeal and issue notice to Mulakkal. In its appeal, the prosecution has argued that Mulakkal’s acquittal was a result of a failure to “separate the chaff from the grain”. The victim nun has also approached the High Court in appeal against the trial courts acquittal of Mulakkal.
On January 14, a Kerala court had acquitted former Bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese, Franco Mulakkal, accused of repeatedly raping a nun.
Additional Sessions Judge of Kottayam G Gopakumar had delivered the much-awaited verdict. The judgment said that there was no evidence against the bishop except the testimony of the victim.
The testimony of the victim, the Court said, was inconsistent and were riddled with variations posing questions on her credibility.
The entire case was built around some obscene messages sent by the accused to the phone of the victim but the mobile phones of the victim and that prosecution witness to whom the victim forwarded the messages from the accused were not produced, the trial court had noted.
According to the court, the allegations were an outcome of factional feud within the church due to which Mulakkal had rivals, as well as in-fighting among the sisters within the congregation and the desire of power and position of the complainant/ prosecutrix over the congregation.
The 50-year-old nun had rocked the Catholic establishment, not just in Kerala, but across the country, when she levelled allegations against Mulakkal in 2018.
It was alleged that the nun had first approached higher officials in the church, including the Pope’s office, with serious accusations against Mulakkal who was then a senior priest. However, she received no response.
In June 2018, when Mulakkal was the head of the Jalandhar diocese in Punjab, the nun filed a complaint before the Kottayam District Police Chief accusing Mulakkal of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.
Subsequently, the Special Investigation Team which probed the case, arrested Franco and charged him for offences under Sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 376 (2)(k), 376(2)(n) (rigorous imprisonment for not less than 10 years), 376 C(a) (intercourse by superintendent of remand home etc), 377 (unnatural offences) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The trial began in September 2020 but at the request of Mulakkal’s counsel, the court had restrained the print and electronic media from publishing any matter relating to the trial.
