SHIBU Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant in Crl.A.No.619 of 2018 is the second accused and the appellant in Crl.A.No.720 of 2018 is the first accused in S.C.No.528 of 2014 on the files of the First Additional Sessions Court, Kollam. The appeals are preferred challeging the conviction of the appellants and the sentence imposed on them in the said case.

(2.) The accusation in the case is that the first accused caused the victim girl aged 14 years to come to the terrace of her house and had sexual intercourse with her on 16.12.2013 and on several days thereafter, and thereby committed the offences punishable under Sections 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (the IPC). It is also the accusation in the case that the second accused, who is a friend of the first accused, later threatened the victim girl that he would divulge the sexual relationship she had with the first accused to her family members, and thereby took her from her house on two days namely 19.01.2014 and 24.01.2014 to a nearby place and subjected her to oral sex. It is also the case of prosecution that similarly, on 28.04.2014, the second accused took the victim girl to the very same place, disrobed her and had sexual intercourse with her. The offences alleged against the second accused are the offences punishable under Sections 354B, 366 and 376 of the IPC and Section 3(d) read with Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (the Act).

(3.) On the accused pleading not guilty of the charges, the prosecution examined 21 witnesses as PWs.1 to 21 and proved 26 documents as Exts.P1 to P26. The accused were, thereupon, questioned under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) as regards the incriminating evidence brought out by the prosecution. The accused denied the same and pleaded not guilty. Since the trial court did not find the case to be one fit for acquittal under Section 232 of the Code, the accused were called upon to enter on their defence. The accused did not adduce any evidence.