Kochi: A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday asked the state government to submit a report on the progress of investigation into the case against Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal who is accused of raping a nun.
The investigating officer had said in a sworn affidavit before a single bench that bishop Franco Mulakkal had raped the nun. The court asked what happened to the case after this and why the investigation had not been completed. The court also observed that nobody is above the law.
The court directed the government to report whether there is a scheme to ensure protection of those who are abused and also what action has been taken on the petition filed by the petitioner nun alleging threat to her life. The court posted the case for Thursday.
The court said this while considering the petitions filed by the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement and Malayala Vedi state president George Vattukulam. A single bench of the court had settled a petition filed by Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement seeking the same demand on August 13. The court had said then that the investigating officer can decide on arrest using his discretionary power after questioning the accused. The petitioners contended before the division bench that almost one month after that, there was little progress in the investigation.
The petitioners said that except for seeking more clarifications from the petitioner nun, nothing had happened. When the last petition was filed, the police had submitted a report on the progress of investigation in the High Court. The court, after observing that a month had elapsed since the submission of that report, sought the details of further investigation.
Though the petitioner submitted that an MLA had verbally abused the petitioner nun, the court observed that such a petition should be submitted by the abused. The petition contends that the bishop abused the nun during 2014-16. It also said that though a petition was filed in this regard 75 days ago, the accused has not been arrested after conducting a fair investigation. Police have also not registered a case in the petition filed by the nun saying that she faces death threats.
