JUDGMENT

[Judgment of the Court was made by B.MURUGESAN, J.]

Assailing the judgment dated 13.12.2023 of the learned Sessions Judge, Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under POCSO Act, Thoothukudi, hereinafter referred to as ‘the trial court’, in Spl SC No.14/2021, convicting the appellant/sole accused and sentencing him for the offences punishable under S. 5(l), S.5(m) and S.5(n) r/w S.6 POCSO Act,2012, and S.506(1) IPC, the appellant/sole accused has preferred this criminal appeal.

2.Conviction and sentences would read as under:

Sentences have been ordered to run concurrently, and the accused has been given the benefit of set off under S.428 Cr PC.

03. Victim is 10 years old girl child, hereafter referred to as ‘the child victim’, and her step father is ‘the accused’.

04. Case of the prosecution would run as under:

(a) Owing to a family dispute, the mother of the child victim got separated from the biological father of the child victim, and married the accused. Therefore, the accused is the step father of the child victim.

(b) On 01.10.2020 at about 9.00 am, when the mother of the child victim had gone to work as a housemaid, the child victim and the accused were at the house. While the child victim along with her first cousin, Subash, was eating food at the house, the accused asked Subash to go and search Ajin. Accordingly, Subash went away to search Ajin. Immediately thereafter, the accused took the child victim to a room inside the house, undressed the child victim, made her lay on the floor, squeezed her chest, placed his penis between her thighs and inserted his finger into her vagina. At this juncture, Subash returned to the house and knocked the door. As the door was locked inside and as there was no response, Subash looked inside the room through the window and found the accused lying naked on the child victim. Subash rushed to the house of one Selvi, a neighbour, and informed her of the occurrence he witnessed through the window. On the information given by Selvi over phone, the mother of the child victim rushed to the house and enquired the child victim who narrated the occurrence to her mother, Selvi, Thommai, and Mariammal. During such enquiry, the child victim informed further that the accused, earlier on three occasions, had committed such sexual assault on her and he had also threatened to kill her and her mother if she disclosed the occurrence to anyone. On the same day, the mother of the child victim went to AWPS, Thoothukudi, and lodged a complaint, Ex.P2.

(c) Pursuant to the registration of FIR in Cr No.36/2020 on the file of AWPS, Thoothukudi, based on such complaint, Ex.P2, IO took the case for investigation on 01.10.2020, inspected the house of the accused being the place of occurrence and prepared the observation mahazar and rough sketch in the presence of the witnesses, Thommai and Kaliraj, and she examined the mother of the child victim, the child victim, Subash @ SubashPandian, Thommai, Kaliraj and Latha SI and recorded their statements. On 02.10.2020, IO, through Constable Mahalakshmi, caused the child victim examined at Thoothukudi Govt Medical College Hospital. Then, IO examined the witnesses, Mariammal and Selvi @ Selvinus.

(d) On 07.10.2020 at 5.00 pm, IO (in charge) arrested the accused near Sona Mahal, Thalamuthu Nagar bazaar, Thoothukudi, and caused the accused remanded to judicial custody. On 09.10.2020, IO caused the statement of the child victim recorded under S.164(5) CrPC. On 21.10.2020, IO caused the statement of Subash recorded under S.164(5) CrPC. On 17.11.2020, IO examined Cruz Mahendran, Headmaster, who issued a report as to the date of birth of the child victim, and recorded his statement. On 26.11.2020, IO, through police personnel, Sornabalan and Muthukrishnan, caused the accused examined at Thoothukudi Govt Medical College Hospital. On 05.01.2021, IO examined Subash and recorded his further statement. IO examined the Constable Mahalakshmi, who took the forensic mater