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Kerala nun’s rape case: HC summons bishop on pleas against acquittal
The survivor, a mother superior belonging to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab, had filed a police complaint in Kottayam on June 29, 2018, alleging Mulakkal had raped her several times between 2014 and 2016.
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala high court on Tuesday issued notice to deposed bishop Franco Mulakkal in the rape case filed against him by a nun after admitting appeals by the survivor and the state government against his acquittal by a trial court.
After accepting both appeals, the court posted the matter for hearing after summer vacation in May, and sent notice to Mulakkal.
A special court in Kottayam had absolved the bishop of all charges on January 14, citing lack of scientific and corroborative evidence, and contradictory statements of the survivor.
In the appeal, the government said the trial court failed to appreciate evidence of the prosecution in the right perspective and gave unwarranted acquittal to the accused. It also said the trial court approached the case with a predetermined mind and attempts were made to discredit the survivor.
The survivor said in her appeal it was a travesty of justice and it was wrong to brand her an unreliable witness.
The survivor, a mother superior belonging to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab, had filed a police complaint in Kottayam on June 29, 2018, alleging Mulakkal had raped her several times between 2014 and 2016.
The case soon attracted national attention after five fellow nuns staged a two-week sit-in protest in Kochi, seeking action against the Bishop after police failed to arrest him. Though the victim filed a complaint on June 29, 2018, it took three months for the police to arrest Mulakkal on September 19, 2018.
Later, he was charged under the Indian Penal Code Sections 376 (2) (indulging in sex by exhorting authority), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and unnatural sex (section 377). During the course of the trial, he had approached the high court and Supreme Court with discharge petitions, but both were turned down.
