RAKESH RAI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant in this appeal under Sec. 374(2) of CrPC has challenged the legality, validity and propriety of the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 29/10/2007 passed by the Special Sessions Judge, Atrocities, Ambikapur - Surguja (C.G.), in Special Sessions Case No. 29/2007, whereby the appellant stands convicted under Sec. 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short 'the Act'), and sentenced as under:

(2.) Prosecution story, in brief, is that on 24/12/2006, the wife of the appellant told complainant (PW-1), who belonged to Uraon Caste which comes under the category of Scheduled Tribes, that she was going to village Deori and, therefore, requested her to come to her house and prepare food for the appellant. Accordingly, the prosecutrix (PW-1) went to the house of the accused/appellant to cook food. At that time, the accused/appellant told her that the light of the kitchen could be switched off from the bedroom and asked her to go to the bedroom to switch it off. When prosecutrix (PW-1) entered the bedroom of the accused/appellant, the accused/appellant caught hold of her hand and, with the intention of outraging her modesty, attempted to push her towards the bed, however, the prosecutrix (PW-1) managed to free her hand and returned to her house, where she shut the door from inside. Thereafter, the accused/appellant came and started banging on the door of her house from outside. Thereafter, the incident was reported at Police Station Gandhinagar, whereupon an FIR (Ex.P-1) for the offence punishable under Sec. 354 of IPC and 3(i)(xi) of the Act was registered being against the acucsed/appellant. Upon completion of the investigation, the charge-sheet was filed before the Court of the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ambikapur, against the accused/appellant for the offence under Sec. 354 IPC and 3(i)(xi) of the Act. Thereafter, learned trial Court framed charge under Sec. 3(1) (xi) of the Act, in alternate under Sec. 354 of IPC, to which the accused/appellant abjured his guilt and prayed for trial.

(3.) In order to prove its case, the prosecution examined as many as 05 witnesses. Statement of the accused/appellant was also recorded under Sec. 313 of CrPC in which he denied all the incriminating circumstances appearing against him in the prosecution case, pleaded innocence and false implication.