Many people, directly or indirectly linked to the case, are not too pleased with the Kerala Court’s verdict to acquit Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Catholic Church in the nun rape case. The Kerala police officer who headed the investigation against the Bishop called the decision of the Kottayam Additional Sessions Court ‘shocking’. Rueing that the police probe built a water-tight case against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, Former Kottayam SP Harishankar called the verdict as “extremely unfortunate.”
A teary-eyed Sister Anupama, who had spearheaded the protests against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, told media after the verdict: “We cannot believe this verdict. We will continue this fight until the day our fellow sister gets justice, even if it means we have to die. All the testimonies were in our favour so we don’t know what happened in court. We will definitely appeal in the higher court.”
Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar was accused of raping a 44-year-old nun at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and subsequent sexual exploitations afterwards.
Further expressing disbelief at the Kottayam Additional Sessions Court’s verdict to set the former Jalandhar Bishop of the Catholic Church free from rape charges, Former Karnataka HC Judge Justice Michael Francis Saldanha told the Republic TV: “This is a miscarriage of justice and it’s intolerable.”
“I am absolutely shocked and horrified because I had the opportunity to look at the case and a good amount of evidence and one of the reasons why I cannot accept this decision is because he had gone to the High Court during the investigation and asked to quash the complaint. The HC had said that there is absolutely no doubt about the evidence and charges, against that he carried the matter to Supreme Court. The High Court has seen the case and in my mind, there was absolutely zero possibility for him to get acquitted. I think the High Court must intervene in the matter and re-examine the case. This is globally shocking,” stated Michael Francis Saldanha.
The Kerala court’s 289-page verdict acquitting Bishop Franco Mulakkal from rape charges
It may be noted that the court on Friday acquitted Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal of allegations of raping a nun in a convent, citing a variety of factors, including the victim’s conflicting version of events and the prosecution’s lack of corroborative evidence.
“This is a case in which the grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up. It is impossible to separate the grain from the chaff. There are exaggerations and embellishments in the version of the victim. She has also made every attempt to hide certain facts. It is also evident that the victim was swayed under the influence of others who had other vested interest in the matter,” the Kottayam Additional Sessions Judge G Gopakumar had written in his 289-page order, that was made available only by Friday night.
Interestingly, on Friday morning, judge G Gopakumar had pronounced the verdict and cleared the Bishop of the rape charges with a single-liner “not guilty”.
The case against the Bishop was described in the order as a matter of nuns’ infighting, rivalry, and group disputes, as well as a desire for power, status, and control over the congregation.
Judge Gopakumar stated in the order: “when it is not feasible to separate truth from falsehood, when grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up, the only available course is to discard the evidence in toto”.
It further read, “It is true that the hymen of the victim was found torn in her medical examination. But defence contends that there was a complaint against the victim, by her own cousin that she had indulged in sexual intercourse with her husband.
“Even if it is assumed that the complaint was a false complaint, from the mere fact that the victim’s hymen was found torn, penile penetration or forceful sexual intercourse cannot be inferred.”
The court noted that the victim’s statements were inconsistent, and hence “she cannot be classified as a sterling witness or a wholly reliable witness.”
“In the said circumstances, this court is unable to place reliance on the solitary testimony of PW1 (victim) and to hold the accused guilty of the offences charged against him,” the court said in its order acquitting Mulakkal of the offences under various sections of the IPC.
NCW asks victim to approach High Court
Expressing shock at the verdict, Rekha Sharma, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women had also said that the victim nun must appeal to the High Court. “The Victim Nun must go to the high court. National Commission for Women is with her in this fight for justice”, she tweeted.
According to the reports, the Kuravilangad Police in 2018 had registered a case on the basis of a complaint filed by a nun against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar Diocese. According to the complaint the nun was raped several times by the bishop at Missionaries of Jesus convent between 2014 and 2016.
In September 2018, the Bishop was arrested for interrogation and was remanded to judicial custody. According to the nuns who stood in support of the victim, several such complaints against the Bishop were overlooked by the authorities. Sister Lucy Kalapura, one of the protester nuns also was permanently expelled from the Church.
The Bishop had then denied the charges as he called the complaint by nun baseless and formulated until the Kerala High Court in 2020 ruled that he must face trial in the case.
