Nun Rape Case: Trial Court Acquits Bishop Franco Mulakkal

Kottayam: The Additional District and Session Court on Friday acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal of all charges after a trial that lasted for more than 100 days the nun rape case.

Mullakal was accused of raping the nun several times between 2014 and 2016. Franco Mulakkal was the first Catholic bishop in India to be arrested for sexually abusing a nun.

In the year 2018, Mullakal was accused of sexually abusing a nun several times during his visit to his convent while he was the bishop of Jalandhar province.

A special investigation team was formed in the case which was investigating all the charges against the bishop, who was arrested in September 2018 and was in jail for 25 days after the court remanded him.

The hearing in the case started in November 2019 after the charge sheet against him, consisting of 2,000 pages in three volumes, was submitted on April 4, 2019.

Later, the trial in the case began in November 2019 and concluded on January 10. Notably, of the 83 witnesses listed by the prosecution, 39 were examined during the trial.

He was charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (2k) (rape on a woman incapable of giving consent), 376 (2n) (causing grievous bodily harm during rape), 376 (c) (a), and 377 (unnatural offence), and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation).

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