Police plan to appeal against Bishop Franco’s acquittal in nun rape case

A day after a Sessions Court here acquitted Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the charge of raping a nun in a convent in the State, Kerala police on Saturday sought legal advice to move an appeal against the verdict in the High Court.

Kottayam SP D Shilpa told reporters that the police have sought legal opinion from the special public prosecutor to move an appeal against the judgment.

”We got the detailed verdict late Friday. We have sought a legal opinion to move the appeal,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bishop visited various churches and met former MLA P C George, who had been backing Mulakkal since the issue came out.

The Bishop, after a brief meeting with George, left for other visits to churches nearby, but refused to comment before the media.

George, who met the media after the meeting, said the case was an effort to target the Church.

He said the case was part of a conspiracy to target the Church and the believers. Mulakkal, 57, was accused of raping the nun multiple times during his visit to a convent in this district between 2014 and 2016 when he was the Bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. The complainant is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, a diocesan congregation under the Jalandhar Diocese.

Acquitting the Bishop, the judge of the Additional District and Sessions Court I, Kottayam, in the order, said the victim’s claim that she was raped on 13 occasions under duress cannot be taken reliance on the basis of her solitary testimony.