NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Bishop Franco Mulakkal’s review petition seeking to be considered for discharge from the nun rape case. With this, his similar pleas in multiple lower courts stand cancelled. “We do not find any error in the order impugned, much less an apparent error on the face of the record, so as to call for its review,” stated the order delivered by Bench comprising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, and Justices AS Bopana and V Ramasubramanian.
The apex court also rejected Franco's plea for open court hearing in the case. The continued hearing in trial court is due on 12th of this month. The alleged rape victim has already appeared for six sessions of the trial. Her lawyer pleaded the court to expedite hearing in the case and submitted SOS seeking to protect the nun from being tormented by defendant lawyer.
Bishop Franco is accused of raping a nun between 2014 and 2016. A Special Investigation Team probed the case in 2018 and charged him under sections 342(wrongful confinement), 376(2K) (rape on a woman incapable of giving consent), 376(2n)(causing grievous bodily harm during rape), 376©(a) 377(unnatural offence) and 506(1)(criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
