KOTTAYAM (INDIA)
New Indian Express [Chennai, India]
January 23, 2022
The court submitted the advice to Kottayam district police chief Shilpa Devaiah in the presence of Addl SP S Suresh Kumar, pointing out the legal points to file appeal.
As part of the move to file an appeal against the acquittal of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, former head of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, in nun’s rape complaint, the prosecution has formally handed over the legal opinion to the police.
Special prosecutor Jithesh J Babu submitted the advice to Kottayam district police chief Shilpa Devaiah in the presence of Addl SP S Suresh Kumar, pointing out the legal points to file appeal against the judgement of Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam.
Legal advice was provided as requested by the police. Legal advice will be forwarded to the government through the state police headquarters. The appeal will be filed in the High Court, through the office of the state advocate general, after obtaining approval from the government.
In addition to this, the victim nun will file a separate appeal on her own, with the help of organisations supporting her, through High Court lawyer John S Raff. The High Court is expected to consider both the appeals together.