The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition seeking investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into all allegations of sexual abuse made against the clergy.
Kerala nun complaint
A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao said the plea contained no specific incidents other than the recent complaint of alleged sexual abuse of a Kerala nun by a Catholic priest, which is already being looked into.
Petitioner Sanjjiiv Kkumaar had in his plea also sought directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner to set up a “clergy abuse hotline” so that such victims and survivors “may come forward to seek justice by registering their grievances and any person may give leads/tips to the law enforcement agency”.
He claimed there was an allegation of sexual abuse in a Catholic retreat centre here, which was required to be investigated. He added that the victim nun had written anonymously to the church authorities, which chose not to act “against the perpetrator”.
The plea alleged that inaction by church authorities was against the principle of natural justice and that the victims have found it impossible to get their allegations taken seriously by the Catholic church.
The plea referred to the case of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is an accused in the Kerala nun rape case and presently out on bail, and said that he was appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi in January 2009.
It claimed that there was a “possibility” the bishop, who allegedly raped the Kerala nun 13 times between 2014 and 16 during his visits to a convent in Kottayam district in Kerala, would have done the same with many children and women during his time as the Auxiliary Bishop in Delhi.
