IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No.52 of 2023 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-44 Year-2020 Thana- MATIYARIA District- West Champaran ======================================================

Sanjay Giri, S/o Sri Subhash Giri, Resident of Village- Itawa, P.S.- Matiyaria, Distt- West Champaran.

... ... Appellant Versus

1. The State of Bihar

2. Umarawati Devi, w/o Suraj Mahto, Resident of village- Itawa, P.S.-

Matiyaria, Distt- West Champaran.

... ... Respondents ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Appellant : Mr. M.N. Parbat, Sr. Advocate Mr. Praveen Prabhakar, Advocate For the State : Mr. Binod Bihari Singh, Addl.PP For the Informant : Mr. Zainul Abedin, Advocate Mr. Sanobar Shahnaz, Advocate ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH

ORAL JUDGMENT

(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD)

Date : 09-02-2026 Heard Mr. M.N. Parbat, learned Senior counsel assisted by Mr. Praveen Prabhakrar, learned counsel for the appellant, Mr. Zainul Abedin, learned counsel for the informant and Mr. Binod Bihari Singh, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State as also perused the trial court’s records.

2. This appeal has been preferred for setting aside the judgment of conviction dated 12.12.2022 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘impugned judgment’) and order of sentence dated 14.12.2022 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘impugned order’)

passed by learned Additional District and Sessions Judge-VII- cum-Special Judge, POCSO Act, West Champaran at Bettiah (hereinafter referred to as the ‘learned trial court’) in Matiyaria P.S. Case No. 44 of 2020, S.G.R. No. 111 of 2020. By the impugned judgment, the appellant has been convicted for the offences punishable under Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code (in short ‘IPC’) and Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (in short ‘POCSO’) Act and has been sentenced to undergo twenty years rigorous imprisonment under Section 376(3) IPC and Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act each with a fine of Rs.20,000/- and in default of payment of fine, he has to further under three months imprisonment. All the sentences are to run concurrently.

Prosecution Case

3. The prosecution case is based on the written application of the informant (PW-2). In her written application, the informant has stated that on 31.07.2020 when she asked her daughter/victim about her last menstrual date, her daughter replied that she had her last period 5-6 months ago. Thereafter, the informant got her daughter checked by a lady who told her that her daughter is carrying pregnancy. When the informant inquired, the victim disclosed that this appellant forcibly established physical relation with her when the informant and other family members had gone to the house of her maternal grandmother at her funeral. It is alleged that when the informant went to the house of this appellant then the news of pregnancy spread like fire in the village. Thereafter the informant, her husband and her daughter/victim gave written application. The informant also told that the age of her daughter is 14 years.

4. On the basis of this written application, FIR being Matiyaria P.S. Case No. 44 of 2020 dated 31.07.2020 was registered under Section 376 IPC and Sections 4/6 of the POCSO Act against this appellant. After investigation, police submitted chargesheet bearing Chargesheet No. 13 of 2020 dated 28.09.2020 under Section 376 IPC and Sections 4/6 of the POCSO Act against this appellant. Learned trial court vide order dated 07.11.2020 took cognizance of the offences punishable under abovementioned Sections.

5. Charges were read over and explained to the appellant in Hindi to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried, accordingly, vide order dated 23.02.2021, charges were framed under Section 376 IPC and Sections 4/6 of the POCSO Act.

6. In course of trial, the pros