Kerala nun rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal's trial to begin on Sept 16; charges framed

Former Archbishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal who is accused in the Kerala nun rape case on Thursday reached the Kottayam Session court where the FIR was read to him. The court said that the trial of the case will begin on September 16. 

Rape-accused Mulakkal will face charges under the following sections: Section 342, Section 376(c)(a), Section 377, Section 506(1), Section 376(2)(k), Section 376(2)(n). This comes after he was granted bail on sureties of Rs 2 lakh. 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 Thursday.

The court issued a non-bailable warrant

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 also 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.

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The rape case against the Bishop was registered by police in Kottayam district. The nun in her complaint to the police in June 2018, had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the Bishop between 2014 and 2016. The Bishop, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team which probed the case, has been charged with wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation.

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(With agency inputs)