IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No.1145 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-58 Year-2023 Thana- BHAWANIPUR District- Purnia ======================================================

1. Abhinandan Kumar S/O Lahru Mandal Resident of Village -Tilharahi, P.S-

Chousa, District- Madhepura

2. Bittu Kumar @ Bittu Kumar Paswan S/O Mr. Mulho Paswan R/O Village-

Chousa, P.S- Chousa, Distt.- Madhepura.

... ... Appellant/s Versus

1. The State of Bihar

2. ‘X’

... ... Respondent/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Appellant/s : Mr. Ajay Kumar Thakur, Adv.

Md. Imtiyaz Ahmand, Adv.

Mr. Ritwik Thakur, Adv.

Mrs.Vaishnavi Singh, Adv.

For the Respondent No.1: Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma, A.P.P. For the Informant : Mr. Jitendra Kumar Giri, Adv.

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRAVEEN KUMAR ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD)

10 18-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the appellants, informant and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

2. Records have been placed before this Court to consider the prayer of the appellants for suspension of their sentence and release on bail during pendency of the appeal.

3. The appellants have been convicted vide judgment dated 30.07.2024 and sentenced vide order dated

31.07.2024 in connection with Spl. (POCSO) Case No. 67 of 2023, C.I.S. No. 67 of 2023 arising out of Bhawanipur (Baliya) P.S. Case No. 58 of 2023 by the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge-VII -cum- Special Judge (POCSO), Purnia for the offence under Sections 363, 366, 376D of the Indian Penal Code (in short ‘IPC’) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (in short ‘POCSO’). They have been ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for twenty years and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- under Section 376D of the ‘IPC’ and in default of payment of fine, he shall further undergo simple imprisonment for three months. For brevity sake, the sentences awarded under other Sections of I.P.C. are not being mentioned.

4. The First Information Report has been lodged by the mother of victim who alleged that on 08.03.2023 at about 6:30 P.M., her daughter ‘X’ aged about 14 years had left her house to go to the shop but as she moved ahead from her house, one of the accused persons, Abhinandan Kumar- appellant No.1 got her seated on a motorcycle with an intention to marry her and took her away. She alleged that said boy used to visit chaitola regularly. She alleged that when she inquired about her daughter in village Tilhari, she came to know that the said boy (appellant No.1) had left his house. The informant claimed that her daughter was abducted by the appellant No.1 with an intention to marry her.

5. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that in this case, the trial court has convicted the appellants under the POCSO Act without lawful determination of the age of the victim. Attention of this Court has been drawn towards a hand written document said to have been produced by the I.O. (P.W.-4) on which, it is certified that the age of the victim is 25.10.2007. It is submitted that the said writing of one page would not inspire confidence as neither the school admission register nor any other proof of date of birth of the victim has been produced. The headmaster of the Middle School, whose seal is present on the said document, or any authorized person from the school has not been produced to prove the document.

6. It is pointed out that the doctor (P.W.-7) has proved the medical examination report of the government Medical College and Hospital, Purnia which shows that the victim girl was examined on 15.03.2023. No marks of injury on external body parts or on private part were found. The Bone Ossification Test of the victim records that she was aged between 16 and 18 years. The medical examination report (exhibit- P11/P.W.-7) further records that from