DINNY GEORGE SUNNY Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in S.C.No.85 of 2016 on the files of the Additional Sessions Court-I, Pathanamthitta is the appellant in the appeal, and the appeal is directed against his conviction and sentence in the said case.

(2.) The victim in the case is a girl aged 14 years. The accusation is that on 07.11.2014, with the intention of seducing the victim girl to illicit intercourse, the accused abducted her to the premises of a school and had sexual intercourse with her and thereby committed the offences punishable under Sections 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (the IPC ) and Section 3 read with Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (the POCSO Act).

(3.) On the accused pleading not guilty of the charges, the prosecution examined 19 witnesses as PWs1 to 19 and proved 27 documents as Exts.P1 to P27. The witnesses examined on the side of the prosecution have also identified the material objects in the case namely MO.1 and MO.2. The accused was, thereupon, questioned under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) as regards the incriminating evidence brought out by the prosecution and the accused denied the same and pleaded innocence. Since the trial court did not find the case to be one fit for acquittal under Section 232 of the Code, the accused was called upon to enter on his defence. The accused thereupon examined a witness on his side as DW1.