franco mulakkal
Bishop Franco Mulakkal (2nd R), accused of raping a nun, is escorted by police outside a crime branch office on the outskirts of Kochi in the southern state of Kerala, India, September 21, 2018.REUTERS/Sivaram V

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was arrested on charges of raping and sexually exploiting a nun, was granted conditional bail by The Kerala High Court on Monday, October, 15.

Franco Mulakkal is the first Bishop in the country to be arrested on rape charges, reports The Week.

The bail has been granted on conditions that Bishop has to surrender his passport to the court and he cannot enter Kerala after his release from the sub-jail in Kottayam, till the charge sheet is filed, reports Deccan Chronicle.

He was arrested on September 21 over the accusation of raping the nun for two years at Kuravilangad in Kottayam.

The nun said that she was raped and sexually assaulted by the Bishop between 2014 and 2016. She had to approach the police when the church authorities didn't take any action against the Bishop, she added.

The accused approached the high court after magistrate's court in Pala, rejected his bail application.

Currently, 54-year-old Bishop is in a sub-jail in Pala in Kottayam district under judicial remand, reports Deccan Chronicle.