Nun rape case: Hearing on discharge plea adjourned till Feb 11
Kottayam/UNI: Additional District Court Judge G Gopakumar has adjourned the preliminary hearing to February 11 on the discharge petition filed by Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the nun rape case.
The Judge adjourned the hearing following a objection raised by the prosecution against the discharge petition.
Franco, the accused, did not appear before the court on Wednesday. His counsel sought time for hearing. The counsel had filed the petition on January 25.
The counsel had argued that the offences levelled against him will not stand and the case was based solely on the statement of 'case witness one' who had a personal grudge against the bishop.
The counsel also argued that most of the prosecution witnesses are not in good terms with the church.
The nun had on June 27, 2018 filed a complaint with the Kottayam police Chief about the alleged sexual abuse by Franco between 2014 and 2016. The chargesheet in the case was filed on April 9, 2019.
Franco who faces charges of wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation in the case, can get life imprisonment or imprisonment of not less than 10 years if proved guilty.
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