By Matters India Reporter
Kottayam, Nov. 29, 2019: Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar will appear before a court in Kerala’s Kottayam on November 30 ahead of the start of the trial in the nun rape case.
The bishop will make his first appearance before the additional district court 1 where the trial will begin later after the completion of the initial procedures.
The bishop, who is accused of raping the former superior general of the Missionaries of Jesus multiple times, is on bail currently. The prelate’s counsel will file a petition seeking an extension of his bail.
The case is likely to be adjourned after extending the bishop’s bail period, media reports say.
The crime that led to the case had happened in the congregation’s convent that falls under the Kuravilangad police station limits. Hence the Kuravilangad police had handed over the summons to the bishop in October.
The nun filed the case on June 27, 2018, with the Kottayam Police chief saying the bishop had sexually abused her from 2014 to 2016. The case came to light the next day when the police recorded the nun’s statement.
The chargesheet in the case was filed on April 9 accusing Bishop Mulakkal of wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation. If found guilty, the 55-year-old prelate could get life imprisonment or imprisonment of not less than 10 years.
Advocate Sujesh Menon of Raman Pillai Associates will appearing for the defense while Jithesh J Babu is the special prosecutor in the case.
According to a source in Jalandhar, Bishop Mulakkal has left for the trial along with 20 priests.
Charges against the rape accused will be framed after the hearing, and after examining the witnesses. Additional District Sessions Judge Gopakumar will preside over the proceedings in the court.
The chargesheet, which is more than 2,000 pages long, contains the statements and testimonies of 84 witnesses, including three bishops, 11 priests and 24 nuns.
The chargesheet was initially submitted in the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Pala, Kottayam district.
Although Bishop Mulakkal appeared in court for the hearing on May 9, his bail was extended and the case was posted for hearing at a later date. Even then, the bishop reportedly tried a show of strength arriving at the court, accompanied by at least 10 priests and a group of women.
The trial was initially set to commence on November 11, but due to unavailability of the judge, the hearing was shifted to November 30. The delay by 20 days put the survivor and the five nuns in distress.
Well aware of the long legal battle ahead of them and considering their isolation the nuns enrolled in correspondence courses and have received counselling sessions to deal with the pressures of the trial.
“We will wait for what the court has to say,” said the nuns’ spokesperson Sister Anupama Kelamangalathuveli, hopeful of a favorable judgment.
Meanwhile social media platforms have circulated a photograph of Bishop Mulakkal sitting inside the Kochi airport wearing civil dress and a cap apparently to hide his identity.