Ex-jalandhar bishop moves Kerala HC to get FIR quashed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Deposed bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, Franco Mulakkal, who was accused in 2018 of raping a nun, on Tuesday moved the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the case against him, claiming he was implicated after he took action against the complainant for financial irregularities in the convent.

In March, a court in central Kerala’s Kottayam had dismissed his discharge petition and directed him to face the trial. In the fresh appeal in the HC, he said all charges against him were concocted due to some personal grudges and differences. But the state government opposed his plea, saying there is strong evidence against him and he was filing unnecessary petitions to delay the trial.

On June 10, the Kottayam trial court took up the case after a long gap due to the lockdown and expressed serious reservation over Mulakkal’s continued absence and asked him to appear on July 1.

The former bishop’s counsel had informed the court that he was not able to travel as there were no domestic flights from Jalandhar and he will have to undergo 14-day quarantine as per the government guidelines. But the court had asked him to make necessary arrangements in advance to appear on July 1.

The case surfaced two years ago when the nun (43), a mother superior, filed a police complaint in Kottayam that Mulakkal raped her several times between 2014 and 2016. The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation in Punjab.

A special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the case arrested Mulakkal in September 2018. He was granted bail after spending 40 days in jail and was removed from the post of bishop later.

The SIT filed the chargesheet against him last year. The nun had also complained that some of the witnesses were threatened by his supporters.

DEPOSED PRIEST SAYS HE WAS IMPLICATED AS HE ACTED AGAINST

THE NUN FOR FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES IN CONVENT; STATE GOVT OPPOSES HIS PLEA