Kerala court cancels former bishop Franco’s bail plea, issues arrest warrant
THIRUVANANTHPURAM/JALANDHAR: A special court in Kottayam in Kerala which is hearing the nun rape case on Monday cancelled the bail of accused Franco Mulakkal, former bishop of Jalandhar, and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him.
When the court took up the case, public prosecutor Jithesh Babu informed the additional district judge G Gopakumar that some of the contentions produced by the accused to avoid his appearance were factually incorrect. In the last hearing on July 1 his counsel had said since Jalandhar was a containment zone he was denied permission to travel to Kerala, which was not the case. To buttress his point, the prosecutor produced documents obtained from Jalandhar which showed his contentions were wrong (HT has documents) and said he was avoiding appearance citing wrong reasons. He told the court that the Civil Lines area in Jalandhar where the former bishop was staying was not a containment zone.
His counsel came out with another reason on Monday saying Mulakkal had a detailed talk with his lawyer who later turned positive and was asked to go in quarantine. But the court said since his first claim fell flat it can’t accept the latest one. Later, the court cancelled his bail and directed the Kottayam police superintendent to arrest and produce him before it. The court later posted the case for August 13.
“Mulakkal had cited flimsy reasons to avoid his personal appearance many times. His men also tried to intimidate some of the witnesses. With his defiant attitude, he was challenging the judicial system of the country,” said Save Our Sisters, a body floated during the stir against Mulakkal, convener Felix J Pulludan.
The spokesman of Jalandhar diocese Father Peter expressed shock over cancelling the bail of Mulakkal and said there was a concerted move to influence the judiciary with wrong information. “A section of the media said the bishop was absent 13 times, but there are only four occasions. We have submitted all documents to the court in this regard. It is sad his submission was overlooked,” said the spokesperson.
Last week the Kerala High Court had rejected his plea to quash the case against him and directed him to face the trial. In March, the trial court in Kottayam also dismissed his discharge plea.
The case surfaced in 2018 after a 43-year-old nun had complained to the police in Kottayam that Mulakkal had raped her several times between 2014 and 2016. The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab. But Mulakkal denied it saying he was implicated after he took action against her for financial irregularities in the convent.
Later a special investigation team was formed and it arrested him in September 2018.
After spending 40 days in jail, he was granted bail. He was removed from the post of the bishop later