Kottayam: Rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal’s bail has been canceled by Kottayam Additional District Court and a no-bail arrest warrant has been issued against him. The order was passed by Judge G Gopakumar after Mulakkal repeatedly failed to appear before the court.
Franco Mulakkal was not present for the hearing on Monday; his counsel stated that he had to go into quarantine as one of his lawyers had tested coronavirus positive.
However, a special prosecutor deposed before the court that the Jalandhar Civil Lines, where the former bishop lives, is not listed as a containment zone and that his no-show is a deliberate attempt to prolong the case.
The court, admitting the argument of the prosecution, cancelled the bail.
The Bishop’s House is in Civil Lines, an area that has not been declared a containment zone so far. The same has been checked with the local administration. Dr Harish Bhardwaj, Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, citing the guidelines, explained: “If a minimum five Covid cases are reported from a particular area, it is declared a containment zone. But Civil Lines has not been in any such zone.”
When contacted by The Tribune, Father Peter, PRO of the Jalandhar Diocese, claimed that the Bishop had sought the permission of the district administration to travel to Kerala for the court hearing, “but he did not get it”. However, Jalandhar DC Ghanshyam Thori denied receiving any such request and so did SDM (Jalandhar-1) Dr Jai Inder Singh. “Since Bishop Mulakkal’s lawyer, whom we met on June 29 and 30 in his office, has tested positive for Covid, we too have undergone tests at the local Civil Hospital. The test reports are expected any time now,” Father Peter further said.
On July 1 too, the Bishop had skipped the hearing, with his counsel telling the court that he was stuck in a containment zone.
Mulakkal, who was arrested over allegations of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting the nun, was granted bail in 2018.
The charges were levelled by a nun who accused him of sexual assault on the night of May 5, 2014. She said she was raped multiple times thereafter till September 23, 2016. The bishop had been charged with rape, wrongful confinement, unnatural offence and criminal intimidation.
The nun said she had to approach the police as church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints.