Kerala Court Acquits Former Bishop Franco Mulakkal In Nun Rape Case
The Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam on Friday acquitted erstwhile Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Catholic Church in the nun rape case.
Additional Sessions Judge G Gopakumar pronounced the highly-anticipated verdict today morning in the presence of Mulakkal.
Advocates B Raman Pillai, C.S . Ajayan, Sujesh Menon, Mahesh Banu. Nibu and Akhil represented Mulakkal in the case.
Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of Jalandhar, was accused of raping a nun from the Missionaries of Jesus convent in Kuravilangad. The survivor alleged that Franco raped her 13 times during his visits to the convent between 2014 and 2016.
Mulakkal had earlier denied the charges as "baseless and concocted", and insisted that the nun had made the allegations as the Catholic order had rejected her demand for favours.
While the trial began in November 2019, it got delayed and was finally completed on Monday, January 10, 2022. It was an in-camera trial and the media and prohibited from reporting details about the trial, as per Bishop Franco's counsel's request.