JUDGMENT :

R. POORNIMA, J.

1. This Criminal Appeal is filed against the conviction and sentence passed against the appellant/accused in the judgment dated 22.06.2023 made in Spl. S.C. No.62 of 2019 on the file of the Special Court for Trial of Cases under POCSO Act, Tirunelveli, in which judgment, accused had been convicted for offences punishable under Section 506(i) IPC and Section 6 of POCSO Act and sentenced to undergo 6 months rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 506(i) IPC and to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/- in default to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 6 of POCSO Act.

2. The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows :

(a) The complaint was lodged by one Uma (P.W.1), a neighbour of the victim with the following allegations: She is a resident of Meenakshipuram, Annanagar in a rental house. The accused was occupying the house situated opposite to the house of the complainant along with the victim's child. When the complainant enquired about the victim girl, the accused informed that she was the daughter of his concubine. He further informed that the mother of the victim girl had died about one month back and therefore, he had brought the child to live with him. Every night, the complainant heard the victim girl raising an alarm. The next morning, when the complainant inquired the victim girl, the victim informed her that her father misbehaved with her and raped her. The same was recorded and therefore, she and other neighbours advised the victim girl to lodge a complaint with the police. However, the victim girl informed that if she lodged a complaint, the accused would kill her.

(b) On 22.10.2017 night, the victim girl came to the house of the complainant. The accused came there and quarrelled with the complainant and insisted that the victim girl be sent with him. Immediately, the owner of his house, Smt.Ponnukutty intervened and asked the accused to vacate the house immediately. The accused absconded from the place. Thereafter, the complainant took the victim girl to the All Women Police Station and lodged the complaint (Ex.P1).

(c) P.W.16 Tmt.Sathyavani Muthu, Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station, received the complaint (Ex.P1) and registered FIR (Ex.P28) in Crime No.7 of 2017 for the offences under Section 506(i) IPC and Section 6 of POCSO Act. She sent the FIR and complaint to the Court through the Constable and other copies to the higher officials. She enquired about the victim girl and recorded her statement. Thereafter, she sent the victim girl through a Grade-I Constable for medical examination.

(d) P.W.9 Dr.Kavitha Paranthaman, after examining the victim girl, issued an accident register (Ex.P10) in which it was stated that on enquiry, the victim girl informed that a known person had sexual intercourse with her by force and under threat that if she revealed the same to anybody, he would kill her. Her hymen is not intact.

(e) The investigation officer went to the place of occurrence and prepared observation mahazar (Ex.P29) and rough sketch (Ex.P30) and recorded the statement of important witnesses. She sent a requisition letter (Ex.P31) to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, to record the statement of the victim girl under Section 164 Cr.P.C. Based on the order (Ex.P32) issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, the statement of the victim girl was recorded.

(f) On 11.11.2017, she arrested the accused and also sent the accused for medical examination. The accused was examined by P.W.10 Dr.Prasanna, who opined that there is no evidence to say that he is impotent.

(g) On 01.12.2017, to ascertain the age of the victim girl, she sent a requisition letter (Ex.P33 and Ex.P34) to the Radiologist. She obtained a radiological report regarding age of the victim (Ex.P9) from P.W.8 Dr.Prince Jeba Anand and recorded his statement.

(h) After investigation, she filed the final charge sheet against the accused for the offences under Section 506(1)