VENKATARAVANA NARAYANASWAMY Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has preferred this appeal against the judgment of conviction and order on sentence dtd. 15/2/2022 passed in Spl.C.(P) No.21 of 2020 by the Additional District and Sessions Judge FTSC-I (POCSO) at Kolar (for short "the trial Court").

(2.) Parties herein are referred to as per their status and rank before the trial Court.

(3.) The brief facts leading to the present appeal are that the Circle Inspector of Police, Srinivasapura Circle, Srinivasapura Taluk filed a charge sheet against the accused for the offence punishable under Ss. 363, 376, 506 of IPC and Sec. 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act). It is alleged by the prosecution that on 12/5/2020 at about 09.00 pm, when the victim girl had gone to backyard of her house to attend to nature call, the accused came there, gagged her and dragged her to the eucalyptus grove of Venkatanarasimha Bhattachar, adjacent to the land of Yakashi Byreddy in Koppavaripalli Village. It is further alleged that the accused removed her clothes, and when she opposed, he bit her cheeks and committed rape on her repeatedly till about 04.00 am. At about 04.00 am, the victim girl escaped from the accused, returned to her house and informed her parents about the incident.