Rape survivor from Kerala moves SC to marry her assaulter, a defrocked priest

New Delhi, July 31

A rape survivor from Kottiyoor in Kerala has moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to marry her assaulter—a defrocked priest who is now undergoing 20 years imprisonment.

The woman, who was a minor when she was raped and later gave birth to the child, has sought that the former priest be released on bail.

Robin Vadakkumcherry, who had initially tried to frame the woman’s biological father, was found guilty by a POCSO court in 2019 after she turned hostile as she claimed that they had a consensual relationship.

On February 16, the Kerala High Court dismissed a plea of the former priest seeking bail to marry the survivor saying that it has no merit.

The high court had said in its order that the trial court’s finding that the survivor was a minor at the time of rape is still in force and an appeal against the conviction of the accused is still pending before it. 

It had said that allowing the parties to get married while the trial court’s finding is intact would mean granting judicial approval to the marriage. 

On July 13, 2018, the top court had termed as “very serious” the charges in Kottiyoor rape case involving the minor and the then Catholic priest. 

It had refused to stay the trial of the case.

Besides Vadakkumcherry, police had then booked two doctors and a hospital administrator under the provisions of POCSO Act for allegedly covering up the crime, not reporting it to the police after they had come in contact with the minor rape victim and destroying of evidences. 

The victim had given birth to the child at their hospital and was under their care. PTI