2018 Supreme(Bom) 1671
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT NAGPUR
V.M. DESHPANDE, J.
Mr. Samadhan Kashiram Khirodkar – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra, through Police Inspector, Police Station, Jalgaon – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 218 of 2018
Decided On : 28-11-2018
For the Appellant : Mr. R.R. Vyas.
For the Respondent: Mrs. S.V. Kolhe.
Headnote:
Indian Penal Code,1860 - Sections 376 (2) (i) and (n) and 375 - Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012 Sections 6, 4 and 3 – Criminal Procedure Code,1973 - Sections 313 and 164 - Falsely implicated in the crime- Medical evidence - Appeal against convicted - Examination of accused - Mother of victim lodged her oral report with Police Station basis of oral report, offence was registered against appellant vide Crime offence punishable under Section 376 (2) (ii) & (n) of the IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of POCSO Act - Gist of FIR is when victim had been to her grandmothers house appellant resided near house of her grandmother called her to his house and asked her to sweep his house and time he made sexual advances towards her by kissing her and touching her private part and also asked her should not disclose this fact to anybody - On next day called her in his house and thereafter placed his hand in her knicker and fingered her vagina, resulting into pains - Held, Appellant continued - Her evidence would show that the appellant asked her not to state those facts to anybody - It was never case of the victim act immediately she felt pain and/or started discharging blood through her urine - It only occurred after two days - This little girl cannot be blamed for not disclosing the fact immediately to anybody - Learned Court blow has rightly paid attention to certain omissions. those omissions do not touch to the core of prosecution case and core of the testimony of the victim about the heinous acts done by the appellant - Court do not find any reason to interfere with the finding recorded by Court below that the appellant was found to be guilty for which he was charged - There is no reason to disturb order of sentence since the Court below has imposed minimum sentence as provided under law - Pass the following order - appeal is dismissed
V.M. DESHPANDE, J.
1. By the present appeal, appellant-Samadhan is challenging the judgment and order of conviction passed by Ad hoc Additional Sessions Judge, Khamgaon, District Buldhana in Sessions Trial No. 92/2015 whereby the appellant is convicted for the offence punishable under Section 376 (2) (i) and (n) of the Indian Penal Code and also under Section 6 of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The appellant is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- and in default of payment of fine to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month.
2. I have heard Mr. R.R. Vyas, learned counsel for the appellant and Mrs. Kolhe, learned A.P.P. for the State in extenso. They took me through the record and proceedings minutely. According to the submissions of the learned counsel for the appellant, the appellant is falsely implicated in the crime. It is also his submission that possibility of tutoring of the victim by her mother Uma Wadode (PW-2) cannot be completely ruled out. It is also his submission which is based on the answers given by the appellant when his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was recorded that due to the political enmity between him and one Avinash Umbarkar, at the behest of said Avinash Umbarkar, false case is lodged against him. It is also his submission that if evidence of the victim is read as a whole, the said does not inspire confidence. It is also his submission that there is a delay in lodging the FIR. Therefore, false implication is not completely ruled out. He, therefore, submitted that appeal be allowed and the appellant, who is in jail be set at liberty.
Per contra, Mrs. Kolhe, learned A.P.P. would submit that the learned Judge of the Court below had evaluated the evidence of prosecution witnesses in correct perspective. She submitted that there was no reason for the victim to falsely implicate the appellant. She also submitted that the medical evidence clearly clinches the issue in favour of the prosecution and, therefore, she submitted that the appeal is not having any merit and therefore it be dismissed.
3. Uma (PW-2), mother of the victim lodged her oral report with Police Station Jalgaon Jamod on 27.08.2015 (Exh.32). On the basis of the said oral report, offence was registered against the appellant vide Crime No. 132/2015 for the offence punishable under Section 376 (2) (ii) & (n) of the IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act. Gist of the FIR is that on 23.08.2015 when the victim had been to her grandmother's house that time the appellant who resided near the house of her grandmother called her to his house and asked her to sweep his house and that time he made sexual advances towards her by kissing her and thereafter touching her private part and also asked her that she should not disclose this fact to anybody. On the next day also, he called her in his house and thereafter placed his hand in her knicker and fingered her vagina, resulting into pains. According to the FIR, this act on the part of the appellant was disclosed to her mother by the victim on 26.08.2015 at 12.00 O'clock in the night. Thereafter, she approached to Police Station and lodged the report.
4. Investigation of Crime No. 132/2015 was handed over to Ganpat Rathod (PW-5). He visited the spot of incident and in presence of pancha, spot panchanama was drawn. It is at Exh.51. Prior to that the appellant was arrested. He also requested Judicial Magistrate First Class, Jalgaon Jamod under Exh.54 to record statement of the victim under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. Accordingly, her statement was recorded by the learned Magistrate after taking due care and following due procedure. The said statement is at Exh.29. Clothes of the victim were seized under Exh.55 so also clothes of accused were seized under seizure memo, Exh.56.
5. Initially, the victim was referred for her medical examination at Rural Hospital, Jalgaon Jamod. At that time, Dr.