Kerala HC grants bail to rape accused Bishop Mulakkal

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday granted bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was arrested in September on charges of raping a nun repeatedly between 2014 and 2016.

The bishop secured the bail with strict conditions that he should not enter Kerala. He must also surrender his passport and should appear before the police once in every two weeks.

Mulakkal was arrested on September 21 after three days of questioning. On September 24, he was sent to two weeks judicial custody.

Mulakkal has been languishing in the Pala sub-jail since.

Earlier on October 3, the high court had denied the bishop bail as Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan observed that there was evidence against him.

Mulakkal, who heads the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar in Punjab, is the first bishop in the country to be jailed for rape.