India’s Kerala state high court on Wednesday (3) rejected the bail petition filed by Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal who arrested for allegedly raping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a nun in India.
Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan accepted the prosecution argument that the accused Bishop has a high position and is an influential personality in the society and will try his best to influence the witnesses to weaken the case, if the court grants bail to him.
The investigating police officers said that the probe into the case is continuing even after the arrest of the accused to gather further evidence against the Bishop.
While hearing the case, the judge also noted that the investigation in connection with the case is at a crucial stage and the statements of the fellow nuns have to be recorded before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CRPC in connection with the case.
The accused moved to the state high court after a local court rejected his bail petition earlier. He is currently under judicial remand at a sub-jail in Kottayam district of Kerala state.
In a complaint to the police in June 2018, the nun alleged that the Bishop raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun in her statement said that she had forced to register a police complaint against the Bishop as church administration didn’t take any action against the Bishop.
Meanwhile, the Bishop has denied all allegations and has described himself as innocent in the case.
Michael Gove
Jeremy Hunt
