The court upheld the conviction under IPC sections for assault and outrage of modesty, reinforcing the evidentiary weight of consistent witness testimonies.

1. This criminal revision petition has been filed challenging the judgment dated 23.06.2016 delivered by the Sessions Judge, Unakoti Judicial District, Kailashahar in Case No. Criminal Appeal 06(3) of 2015 affirming the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 08.07.2015 passed by the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Kailashahar in Case No. GR 76 of 2011 whereby petitioners were convicted and sentenced to R.I for six months and a fine of Rs.10,000/- each with default stipulation for commission of offence punishable under S.354 read with S.34 IPC and also sentenced to fine of Rs.1000/- each with default stipulation for commission of offence punishable under S.323 of the Indian Penal Code and it was ordered that fine on realisation be paid to the victim.

2. The brief facts which have led to the filing of this revision petition are as under:
The victim (name withheld) lodged a written FIR with the Officer - in - Charge of Kumarghat police station at about 4.30 pm on 23.02.2011 alleging inter alia that on the previous day the two petitioners trespassed into her house and outraged her modesty. They caught hold of her and gagged her to prevent her from shouting and thereafter they grounded her by force and tried to undress her. Following her cry, her neighbours Ashish Nath Choudhury alias Mintu and his wife Niti Nath Choudhury appeared for her rescue. The petitioner namely, Dipak Das then took up a firewood from the place of occurrence and started striking the victim and his neighbours with it. The injuries of her neighbours being serious they were taken to RGM Hospital at Kailashahar for treatment.

3. Based on her FIR, Kumarghat PS Case No.14/11 under S.447, S.354 and S.325 read with S.34 IPC was registered and the case was taken up for investigation. The Investigating Officer met the victim and her said neighbours, recorded their statements under S.161, Cr. P.C, visited the crime scene and prepared hand sketch map with separate index thereof and collected the injury reports of the victim and his injured neighbours and submitted charge sheet No.22 of 2011 dated 31.03.2011 against the petitioners for having committed offence punishable under S.354 and S.323 read with S.34 ,IPC. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, North Tripura (as it was then) received the charge sheet and vide order dated 11.04.2011 took cognizance of offence punishable under S.354 and S.323 read with S.34 IPC and transferred the case to the trial Court for trial of the case.

4. The trial Court explained to the petitioners the substance of accusation brought against them in terms of S.251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr. P.C hereunder). Both the petitioners pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.

5. In the course of trial, prosecution examined 11 witnesses in all. Among them PW - 1 is the victim, PW - 2 (name withheld) is the husband of the victim. PW - 3 Ashish Nath Choudhury alias Mintu is also a neighbour who rushed to the place of occurrence following the cry of the victim and witnessed the occurrence. PW - 4, Dipak Chandra Haldar is the Medical Officer who attended the injured victim (PW - 1) and Manik Das (PW - 2) at Fatikroy PHC where they were brought for treatment after the occurrence. PW - 5, Smt. Niti Nath Choudhury, wife of PW - 3 is also an eye witness who appeared at the place of occurrence to rescue the victim. PW - 6, Smt. Bithi Bhattacharjee is also a neighbour of the victim who heard the cry of the victim and saw the injured victim and their neighbour Niti Nath Choudhury (PW - 5) immediately after the occurrence. PW - 7, Smt. Basanti Das is a neighbour of the victim. PW - 8, Sanjoy Das is also a neigh