Last year, the bishop was acquitted of multiple rapes of a nun.
Mulakkal was appointed bishop of the diocese of Jalandhar in the state of Punjab in 2013. He temporarily stepped down from that position in 2018 when a nun accused him of multiple rapes.
The court released him in January 2022. The investigating officer and the nun appealed the verdict. Indian media reported that Pope Francis met with Mulakkal, 59, in February. There was no information from the Vatican about that meeting.
The agency states that bishops, according to tradition, resign when they reach the age of 75.
