The court emphasized that the school certificate is the best proof of age and followed the procedure under the Juvenile Justice Act to determine the age of the victim. The court held that consent is irrelevant when the victim is a minor.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Criminal Appeal filed under Section 374 of Cr.P.C. against the judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the Sessions Judge, Fast

Track Mahila Court, Sivagangai made in S.C.No.17 of 2016 dated 21.11.2019.)

R. Subramanian, J. & N. Sathish Kumar, J.

1. This appeal has been filed by the appellant / sole accused as against the conviction and sentence, dated 21.11.2019, made in S.C.No.17 of 2016, by the learned Sessions Judge, Fast Track Mahila Court, Sivagangai.

2. The appellant / sole accused stood convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment as detailed hereunder:

(Both the sentences were directed to run concurrently.)

3. The brief facts of the prosecution is as follows:

(i) P.W.2 is the victim girl. P.W.1 is the mother and P.W.3 is the father of victim girl. The victim was studying 12th standard in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Udaikulam staying at Adi Dravida Welfare Hospital, Udaikulam, Manamadurai. During holidays, she used to visit her native place. After alighting from the bus she has to walk certain distance to reach her home. Whenever she come to village, during holidays, after alighting from the bus, while she was proceeding to her home, the accused used to stalk her. On the date of occurrence, at about 8.00 p.m., the accused took her to the nearby area surrounded by the Prosopis Juliflora trees (Seemai Karuvelam Trees) and rapped her, as a result she became pregnant. After some time, when she went to school she complained of stomachache. P.W.1 mother asked her to complete the examination and come back. However, when P.W.2 alighted from the bus to go to the school, she developed pain and immediately P.W.3 father of the victim girl reached that place and took her to the hospital. The doctor suspected appendicitis and referred the patient to the Sivagangai hospital.

(ii) P.W.10-Medical Officer attached to the Government Medical College Hospital, Sivagangai while in duty on 15.12.2015, at about 8.30 p.m, the victim girl aged about 17 years was produced before her. On examination, P.W.2 has informed her that she had a sexual intercourse with a known person more than five times. P.W.10 on examination found that the fetus was aborted and she has also collected tissues for further examination and issued certificate Ex.P.5.

(iii) PW15-Inspector of police, after receipt of intimation from the hospital, went to the hospital, examined the victim, recorded her statement and registered a case in Crime No.28 of 2015 under Sections 5(l)(j)(ii) and 6 of the 'Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012' (hereinafter referred to as 'POCSO' Act) under Ex.P.13, and also examined the witnesses and recorded the statement. P.W.12-Medical Officer examined the tissues forwarded to her and issued a certificate-Ex.P.11 stating that chorionic villi could not be made out in the section studied. P.W.11 has conducted ossification test and issued Ex.P.7 stating that the age of the victim girl must be around 17 to 18 years. X-ray was also filed as M.O.1. P.W.13- Headmaster of the school, where the victim girl studied, has issued Ex.P12 stating that her age was recorded as 17 while studying at 12th std. P.W.16 conducted further investigation and finally laid a final report against the accused.

(iv) The prosecution, in order to bring home the guilt of the accused, examined as many as 16 witnesses as P.W.1 to P.W.16, marked 16 documents as Ex.P.1 to Ex.P.16 and 1 material object as M.O.1. After analyzing the oral and documentary evidence, the trial Court has found the accused guilty and convicted the accused as referred above. Assail