Kerala, nun move high court against Franco’s acquittal in rape case

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the high court against a trail court’s verdict acquitting former bishop Franco Mulakkal in a rape case filed by a nun, who too has filed a petition in the court.

While the victim nun moved the appeal earlier this week challenging the bishop’s acquittal, the prosecution moved the high court on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government granted sanction for filing of the appeal by the prosecution after a cabinet meeting.

In its appeal against the trial court’s January 14, 2022 decision, the prosecution contended that the sessions judge, without appreciating the evidence in the correct perspective, “misconstrued facts and law and gave unwarranted acquittal to the accused” and set him free.

The prosecution, in its appeal filed through additional public prosecutor P Narayanan, has also claimed that the lower court’s judgment was “patently wrong, manifestly erroneous and totally perverse”.

The appeal sought setting aside of the sessions court’s decision.

“Prosecution has a strong case… Some of the evidences were overlooked by the trial court,” a government spokesperson said. The Kerala government was keen to file an appeal at the earliest, but it was delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

On January 14, the additional district and sessions court in Kottayam had acquitted the bishop, citing lack of scientific and corroborative evidence and contradictory statements of the victim.

Former Kottayam superintendent of police S Harishankar, who headed the probe against Mulakkal, had termed the trial court’s verdict as “unfortunate and unprecedented”, after which a contempt of court case was filed against him by a follower of the bishop.

Mulakkal, 57, was accused of raping the nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016 when he was the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Roman Catholic church. The survivor is a mother superior of the Missionaries of Jesus, a diocesan congregation under the Jalandhar diocese.

Though the nun filled a complaint on June 29, 2018, the bishop was arrested only on September 19 that year. The case attracted national attention after five fellow nuns staged a two-week protest in Kochi seeking action against the bishop.

The special investigation team that probed the case charged the bishop with wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code.

Trial in the case, which started in November 2019, had concluded on January 10 this year. The court had restrained the print and electronic media from publishing any matter relating to the trial in the case without its permission.

During the trial, Mulakkal had approached the high court and the Supreme Court with discharge petitions, but both were turned down. He was removed from the post of bishop by Vatican. He, however, approached Vatican after his discharge, but is yet to be reinstated.