‘I must speak for myself, will not rest till I get justice’, says Sister Ranit, nun who accused Bishop Franco of rape

After years of isolation and struggle, Sister Ranit recently decided to publicly reveal her identity. 

“Till now, it was my allies who spoke for me. But now there’s no point in me keeping quiet. I must come out and speak for myself,” said Ranit, a senior Catholic nun living in Kuravilangadu, Kerala. In 2018, she filed a police complaint against Franco Mulakkal, the then bishop of Jalandhar, accusing him of repeatedly raping her between 2014 and 2016. This was the first instance in India of a nun filing a case of rape against a bishop.

Through a series of recent interviews, to Asianet News, Mathrubhumi and others, the nun has made it clear that she will fight the case till the end. 

The convent Ranit lives in is part of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, which is presided over by the Jalandhar Diocese. 

Ranit’s first interview with a journalist took place in 2025, when she spoke to The News Minute. At the time, she had not wanted her identity to be disclosed.

In those conversations, she described the crippling anxiety she felt on the day of the verdict and the hope she continued to hold on to for justice.

It was on January 14, 2022, at exactly 11:02 am, that the verdict was announced. Ranit watched as news channels declared, “Franco Mulakkal kuttavimukthan aanu” – “Franco Mulakkal is acquitted ”

“I couldn't believe it. It broke me,” Ranit said. Mulakkal had resigned as Bishop but continues to hold the honorary title of Bishop Emeritus. 

A few months after the acquittal, Ranit appealed the verdict before the High Court, but though nearly four years have passed , not a single hearing has been scheduled till date. 

Although the state is required to appoint a public prosecutor in such cases, this too has not happened.

On November 12, 2025, after her initial letter raising these issues was rejected by officials, Ranit met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in person and handed him a letter with her concerns and sought his attention to her situation. In the letter, she requested the appointment of a special public prosecutor and emphasized the importance of the verdict in this case to the safety and security of women in general. It is critical that the verdict should help other women in Kerala who are similarly suffering, she wrote.  

She requested that senior advocate B.G. Harindranath, senior advocate in the Kerala High Court, be appointed as Special Public Prosecutor. 

The chief minister, she said, read the entire letter and told her that her requests would be taken into consideration.

What made Ranit reveal her........

© newslaundry