Kerala nun rape case: High Court refuses to order arrest of bishop, says let police question him first

The Kerala nun has alleged that the Bishop of Jalandhar raped her 13 times in two years.

The police probe against Franco Mulakkal, the Jalandhar bishop accused by a nun of raping her, is moving in the right direction, the Kerala high court said on Thursday after the police reported there were contradictions in the statements of various people including the complainant.

Women during protest march demanding the immediate arrest of Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal. The bishop has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and concocted”. (AFP File Photo)

The high court also declined to order the police to arrest the Bishop, seen as a huge setback for the campaign to demand “action” against him.

“Let the police quiz him again. We will hear the case after this,” the court said.

The court, which had earlier directed the state government to explain the details of action taken against Mulakkal, will hear the case again on September 24.

The 43-year-old nun has alleged that Mulakkal assaulted her after summoning her on the pretext of discussing an important issue in 2014. He later allegedly raped her 13 times in the next two years.

The bishop had dismissed the allegations as “baseless and concocted”, insisting she levelled those as the Catholic order had rejected her demand for favours.

The nun has recently sought the urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded the bishop’s removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese, questioning why the church was “closing its eyes to the truth” when she mustered the courage to make public her sufferings.