Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested for allegedly raping a nun, granted bail by Kerala High Court
Kochi, Oct 15: The Kerala High Court Monday granted conditional bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested over allegations of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a nun.
Granting the bail, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan directed the accused Bishop to surrender his passport and not to enter Kerala state except for appearing before the probe officer once in two weeks on Saturdays.
This condition would be applicable till a charge sheet is filed in the case.
Earlier on October 3, the High Court had dismissed the bail plea of the bishop while accepting the prosecution argument that the accused, holding a high position in society will try to influence witnesses in the case, if given bail.
The 54-year-old Bishop, currently lodged in a sub-jail in Pala in Kottayam district, moved the high court again after a magistrate court extended his judicial remand.
Police opposed the bail application of the clergyman, saying investigation was still on in the case.
In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun said she had to approach the police as church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints against the clergyman.
However, Mulakkal has denied the charges as "baseless and concocted," insisting she levelled those as the Catholic order had rejected her demand for favours.
He had last month stepped aside as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese.
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Bengaluru: Karnataka’s district judiciary is facing a significant shortage of judicial officers, with approximately 27.5% of positions across the state's district courts remaining vacant.
According to data cited by The Times of India on Tuesday, out of a total of 21,541 positions, 5,926 remain unfilled, leading to concerns about the efficiency of the state's justice system.
Bengaluru city is particularly affected, with 835 vacancies out of 2,510 sanctioned posts. Bengaluru Rural courts follow closely with 532 vacant positions from a total of 1,003 sanctioned roles. Mandya district shows an alarming vacancy rate, with 376 vacancies against 844 sanctioned positions.
Several other major districts are also grappling with alarming staffing deficits, including Mysuru (299 vacancies) Belagavi (345), Tumakuru (279), Dakshina Kannada (312), and Hassan (207).
Apart from vacancies of judicial officers, 243 of the 1,395 sanctioned posts for district judge, ad-hoc district judge, senior civil judge and civil judge remain vacant, the report added.
Legal experts have stressed that addressing the judicial vacancy crisis should be a priority for the state government to ensure the effective functioning of the justice delivery system. These staffing shortages may contribute significantly to case backlogs and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M.B. Patil, recently stated in the legislative assembly that efforts to fill the vacancies are underway. He cited a notification from February 2025, which will see 158 civil judge positions filled in the near future.
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