869: Bishop Franco Case: Why the Kottayam Court's Judgment Is Problematic

<div>More than three years after the Catholic Church was rocked by rape allegations, in a shock judgment on 14 January, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam<a href="https://www.thequint.com/news/india/kerala-court-discrediting-witnesses-minor-grounds-unbelievable-police-bishop-franco-mulakkal#read-more"> acquitted ex-Bishop Franco Mulakkal</a> of rape charges filed against him by a nun.<br> <br> </div> <div>In a 289-page verdict, Additional Sessions Judge G Gopakumar held the victim’s statement as “inconsistent” and that the “prosecution has failed to give proper explanation for the inconsistent version.”<br> <br> However, the verdict saw some <a href="https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/kerala-nun-rape-case-why-a-womans-conduct-is-not-the-point#read-more">bizarre reasoning</a> to arrive at this conclusion, from an inexplicable dismissal of important disclosures by the survivor to other nuns to calling the primary supporting witnesses in the case “unreliable.”<br> <br> In her allegations, the survivor stated that the Bishop had raped her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. However, what followed was a harrowing experience both inside and outside the court for the survivor and the nuns who came out in support of her.<br> <br> </div> <div>And the way the trial took place – with multiple witnesses brought forward by the prosecution who supported the survivor's testimony, Kerala Police's thorough investigation in the case – the final verdict outraged not only women activists but also the legal community, given the several loopholes in the judgment.<br> <br> </div> <div>In today’s episode, we are going to take a look at the judgment, the reasoning the court gives for acquitting Bishop Franco Mulakkal, and why it is problematic.<br> <br> </div> <div> <br> <strong>Guests:<br> </strong>Vakasha Sachdev, The Quint’s Legal Editor </div> <div>Sister Lucy Kalappura<br> <br> </div> <div> <strong>Host and Producer: </strong>Himmat Shaligram</div> <div> <strong>Editor:</strong> Vakasha Sachdev</div> <div><