Bishop Franco Mulakkal gets bail in nun rape case

Trivandrum, Oct 15: Kerala High Court Monday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal accused of raping a Kerala nun. He is currently under judicial remand in a sub-jail in Pala in Kottayam district.

Kerala High Court has laid down the conditions that Bishop Franco Mulakkal should not enter Kerala & should surrender his passport before the court.

In September, a court in Pala had rejected a bail application filed by Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested over allegations of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a nun, and sent him to two-day police custody.

His lawyers had moved the application, submitting that the clergyman was arrested after a three-day-long interrogation by the probe team.

In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.

The nun said that she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints against the clergyman.

However, the bishop has denied the charges.

(With PTI inputs)