Nun Rape Case News Today

According to the statement issued by the church, Bishop Franco was asked to resign.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Franco Mulakkal, the bishop of the Diocese of Jalandhar in the northern Indian state of Punjab. The bishop had been accused of repeatedly raping a nun over a two-year period in Kerala but was acquitted last year. The Vatican made the announcement on Thursday, providing no additional details regarding the decision.

Earlier on January 14 this year, the Additional District and Sessions Court, Kottayam had acquitted Franco Mulakkal, former head of the Latin Catholic diocese of Jalandhar, from the rape case.

After the court's judgment, the defence lawyers had claimed that the interview and examination of senior journalist Abhilash Mohan as a 'defence witness' proved crucial in the Bishop's acquittal.

The Kottayam court acquitting Bishop Franco Mulakkal while the survivor was expelled from her duties was a telling saga of how sexual predators not only survive but thrive in India. 

Kottayam SP D Shilpa said that the police have sought a legal opinion from the special public prosecutor to make an appeal against the judgment.

A day after Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun multiple times over two years in a case that sparked massive outrage and protests in Kerala, was acquitted by a court, the prosecution has decided to file an appeal.

The Court said that the testimony of the complainant was inconsistent and riddled with variations and the allegations were an outcome of factional feud within the church and complainant's desire for power and position.

Nuns of the Kuravilangad Convent in Kottayam have made it clear that they will challenge the acquittal of the Bishop who was charged with rape.

Mulakkal, 57, was accused of raping the nun multiple times during his visit to a convent in Kottayam district when he was the Bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Roman Catholic church.