The anticipatory bail plea of Bishop Franco Mulakkal will be heard on 25 September by the Kerala High Court.
Besides agreeing to hear the bail plea of the bishop accused of raping a nun, the court on Tuesday also asked the Kerala government to file an affidavit.
Bishop Mulakkal of the Roman Catholic Diocese, Jalandhar, had filed the petition earlier today. He is to appear before a Kerala Police probe team on Wednesday.
In his bail plea, which came before Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan, Mulakkal appealed that he be not arrested till the anticipatory bail plea was disposed.
He reiterated that the complaint against him was false, concocted and meant to harass him.
A Kerala nun has accused Mulakkal of repeatedly sexually abusing her between 2014 and 2016. An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent.
Mulakkal was questioned by the police in August at his Jalandhar office.
Meanwhile, an indefinite protest against the bishop entered its 11th day on Tuesday.
“We have faith in the judiciary. Tomorrow the bishop has to appear before the police. We will wait for what happens,” said one of the five protesting nuns.