Kochi: The newly appointed Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the nun rape case involving former Bishop Franco Mulakkal has said that the survivor was subjected to “injustice” during the trial.

Senior advocate B G Harindranath, chosen by the Kerala government to represent the survivor in her appeal before the Kerala High Court, told a television channel that although he had not gone through the entire case file, the portions he reviewed showed “discrepancies”.

“A lot of mistakes were made. I believe we have a good chance in the appeal,” he said.

Harindranath noted that the trial court had treated the survivor as though she was complicit, a position he said was fundamentally flawed.

“The victim was disbelieved (by the court) on the basis of statements of others. I feel an injustice was done to the victim,” he said.

According to him, his primary task would be to demonstrate before the High Court that the trial court’s reasons for rejecting the survivor’s testimony cannot be sustained.

He also revealed that the police had approached him six months ago seeking his consent to serve as SPP.

“After taking my consent, there was no further response from their side. The fact that she had to see the CM for such a small matter indicates that our system is not functioning properly. This appointment happened only because she met the CM,” the senior lawyer remarked.

The survivor had recently met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to request a dedicated SPP for the appeal. Following the meeting, the Chief Minister’s Office confirmed on Friday that Harindranath had been appointed, with a formal notification expected shortly.

Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping the nun, was acquitted by a trial court in 2022 and subsequently resigned as the Bishop of Jalandhar. The survivor has challenged the verdict in the Kerala High Court.
PTI