Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal acquitted in Kerala nun rape case

Franco Mulakkal was accused of repeatedly raping a nun from Kerala between 2014 to 2016.

New Delhi: A court in Kerala on Friday (January 14) acquitted Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the charges of raping a nun in a convent in the southern state.

As the prosecution failed to produce evidence against the accused, the Additional District and Sessions Court II acquitted the Bishop.

Mulakkal, 57, was accused of raping the nun multiple times during his visit to a convent in this district when he was the Bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Roman Catholic church.

The rape case against the Bishop was registered by police in Kottayam district in June 2018.

Accused Bishop Mulakkal was arrested on September 21, 2018, after which, he was sent for three days of questioning.

On September 24, he was sent to two weeks of judicial custody.

The Kerala High Court in October 2018 had rejected the bail plea of Mulakkal.

As per reports, the victim, a nun from Kerala, was subjected to rape and unnatural sex 13 times in the same room between 2014 to 2016.

If convicted, Mulakkal would have been the first bishop in the country to be sent to jail on charges of rape.