Kerala nun rape case: Court grants bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, recalls warrant

A Kottayam court on Friday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal on a fresh bail bond in connection with the nun rape case after he appeared before the court today.

Additional District Court Judge G Gopakumar granted Mulakkal bail on fresh sureties.

The court also recalled the non-bailable warrant issued against him and cancelled the proceedings against the old sureties and listed the matter for further hearing on August 13.

Mulakkal was directed to remain in the state till the next date of hearing and was also asked to participate in the trial of the case without fail.

Earlier, the court had cancelled the bail granted to Mulakkal and issued a non-bailable warrant against him after the accused repeatedly failed to appear before the trial court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday dismissed Mulakkal's plea seeking to discharge him from the case without a trial. The Kerala High Court and a Kottayam trial court had earlier refused to discharge him in the case.

Mulakkal, former head of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, had sought from the trial court to quash charges against him claiming that the rape survivor had implicated him after he took action against her for financial irregularities in the convent.

In June 2018, the nun, who is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab, had complained to the police in Kottayam that Jalandhar Bishop had raped her several times between 2014 and 2016.

After several rounds of questioning, the special investigation team (SIT) of Kerala Police arrested him in September 2018. The SIT had filed the charge sheet against him last year.

( With inputs from ANI )