Page 1 of 15 $~ * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on: 07th December, 2023 Date of decision: 01st March, 2024 + CRL.A. 830/2017 & CRL.M.(BAIL) 1486/2021, 423/2023 SUSHIL YADAV ..... Appellant Through:
Mr. Biswajit Patra, Mr. Raghav Khanna & Mr. Robin Jaiswal, Advocates.
versus STATE (GOVT. OF NCT), DELHI ..... Respondent Through:
Mr. Aman Usman, APP for the State with SI Seema, P.S. Najafgarh. Mr. Amit Gupta & Mr. Shiv Verma, Advocates for complainant.
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT SHARMA
Conviction - Appeal under Section 374 (2) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('CrPC') - The appellant was convicted for the commission of the offences punishable under Sections 366 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‗IPC‘) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‗POCSO Act‘).
Fact of the Case:
On 14.03.2013, a girl aged 2 years was reportedly raped by the appellant, who was convicted for the offences punishable under Section 366 of the IPC and Section 6 read with Section 5(m) of the POCSO Act. The appellant appealed against the judgment of conviction and order on sentence.
Finding of the Court:
The Trial Court convicted the appellant based on medical and scientific evidence, despite the mother of the victim resiling from her statement. The medical and scientific evidence was deemed sufficient to prove the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.
Issues: The primary issue was whether the appellant was entitled to the benefit of doubt based on the testimony of the victim's mother, which exonerated him from the alleged act constituting the offence under Section 6 read with Section 5(m) of the POCSO Act.
Ratio Decidendi: The medical and scientific evidence, including the DNA analysis, was considered creditworthy and unimpeachable, leading to the conclusion that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed, and the order on sentence was sustained.
JUDGEMENT
AMIT SHARMA, J. 1. The present appeal under Section 374 (2) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('CrPC') has been filed assailing the judgment of conviction and order on sentence dated 24.12.2016 and 10.07.2017 respectively, passed by the learned ASJ-01, South West District, Dwarka Courts, New Delhi, in SC No.
85/2/13 arising out of FIR No. 66/2013 registered at P.S. Najafgarh. The appellant has been convicted for the commission of the offences punishable under Sections 366 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‗IPC‘) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‗POCSO Act‘). The appellant was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 years for the Page 2 of 15 offence punishable under Section 366 of the IPC alongwith a fine of ₹5,000/- and in default of payment of fine, further simple imprisonment for 01 month.
The appellant has also been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 12 years for the offence punishable under Section 6 read with Section 5(m) of the POCSO Act alongwith a fine of ₹10,000/- and in default of payment of fine, further simple imprisonment for 02 months.
2. The brief facts, necessary for the disposal of the present appeal, are as under:
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