IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT GWALIOR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE ANAND PATHAK &

HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE PUSHPENDRA YADAV CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 184 of 2017 NARESH BANJARA Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Appearance:

Shri Ashok Kumar Jain and Ms.Nikita Jain – Advocates for the appellant.

Smt. Anjali Gyanani – Public Prosecutor for the respondent/State.

J U D G M E N T

(Delivered on this 9^th day of September 2025)

Per: Justice Anand Pathak This appeal, under Section 374 of the Cr.P.C., arises out of the judgment dated 15.11.2016 passed by Special Judge (POCSO Act, 2012) & Second Additional Sessions Judge, Dabra, District Gwalior (M.P.) in S.T.No.08/2016 (Special POCSO CIS No. 230402-01679-2015), whereby the present appellant stands convicted as under :-

Signature Not Verified

2. Prosecution story, as unfolded during trial, is that on the intervening night of 18^th and 19^th October 2015, prosecutrix aged about 4-6 years with her parents was sleeping in their house at village Chirpura, Police Station Bilauwa, District Gwalior. Around 1.30 AM accused entered into house, lifted and took away the prosecutrix from the house. She was taken in the field of Jaswant Singh Sardar near the school at Village Chirpura, where accused committed rape upon her. When parents of prosecutrix awoke around 1.00-1.15 AM, they did not find prosecutrix and therefore they went out in her search and on hearing her voice of weeping reached at the place of incident. They saw that prosecutrix was lying down on the ground and accused was committing sexual intercourse with prosecutrix. They made hue and cry, on which Teekaram reached there. They tried to catch the accused, but he escaped and ran away. Blood was oozing out from vagina of prosecutrix. Abrasions were present on her back and neck. She was taken back to the house, where she narrated the incident to her parents. On being informed on phone, Ravi Bhadauriya, Officer in Charge of Police Station Bilauwa, reached the house of prosecutrix. Dehati Nalishi was lodged by father of the prosecutrix. Blood stained earth and plane earth were seized. On the basis of Dehati Nalishi, FIR (Ex.P-9) was registered at Police Station Signature Not Verified Bilauwa, District Gwalior at Crime No.164/2015. Prosecutrix was sent for medical examination. Accused was arrested on 19.10.2015. Vaginal slide and seized clothes of prosecutrix and clothes and semen slide of accused were sent to FSL Sagar for chemical examination. After completion of the investigation, charge-sheet against the accused person was submitted before the court of competent criminal jurisdiction who committed the case to the Sessions Court Gwalior for trial.

3. On being charged with the offences punishable under Section 363, 376(2) (I&M), 307 and 450 of IPC and Section 6 of POCSO Act, the appellant abjured the guilt. In the examination under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he stated that father of prosecutrix and Teekaram called accused at farm on Madadeen to take liquor, where Teekaram, father of prosecutrix and Sumera demanded money from him for liquor. When he denied, they beat him and snatched his mobile phone.

4. To bring home the charges, prosecution examined as many as 13 witnesses including eye-witnesses Rumali (PW1), Sirdar (PW4) and Teekaram (PW7), while only two witnesses were examined in defence. 5. On consideration of the evidence on record, learned trial Judge, for the reasons recorded in the impugned judgment, found the appellant guilty of the offences charged with. He, therefore, convicted and sentenced the accused as indicated