ABDUL RAHIMAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in S.C.No.472 of 2011 on the files of the Sessions Court, Palakkad has come up in this appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the said case.

(2.) The accusation in the case is that on 09.08.2009, at about 04.30 pm, the accused who is a friend of the father of the victim girl had sexual intercourse forcibly with the victim girl aged ten years at his house, and thereby committed the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (the IPC ). It is also the accusation in the case that the accused has, thereupon, threatened the victim girl that he will do away with her and her parents, if she discloses the occurrence to anyone, and thereby committed the offence punishable under Section 506(i) of the IPC. It is the further accusation in the case that the accused has, thereupon, caused disappearance of the evidence in the case by washing his dress as also the dress worn by the victim girl at the time of occurrence, and thereby committed the offence punishable under Section 201 of the IPC.

(3.) On the accused pleading not guilty of the charges levelled against him, the prosecution examined 16 witnesses as PWs.1 to 16 on its side and proved through them 22 documents as Exts.P1 to P22. Among the witnesses examined, PW1 is the father of the victim girl, PW2 is the victim girl girl herself, PW3 is the mother of the victim girl, PW5 is the person to whom the accused is stated to have made a confession, PW6 is the witness to Ext.P4 seizure mahazar, PW7 is the doctor attached to the District Hospital for Women and Children, Palakkad where the victim girl was taken immediately after the occurrence, PW8 is the doctor attached to Palana Hospital, where the victim girl was admitted and treated for the injuries suffered by her in the occurrence, PW12 is the police official who registered the First Information Report in the case, PW15 is the Magistrate who recorded the statement of the victim girl under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) and PW16 is the investigating officer in the case. The witnesses examined on the side of the prosecution have also identified the material objects in the case, Mos.1 to 5. Among the documents proved, Ext.P1 is the First Information Statement, Ext.P3 is the portion of the 161 statement of PW5, Ext.P4 is the seizure mahazar relating to MO2, the inner garment of the victim girl, Ext.P4(a) is the statement of the accused on the basis of which MO2 is stated to have been recovered, Ext.P5 is the O.P ticket issued to the victim girl from the District Hospital for Women and Children, Palakkad, Ext.P6 is the report of medical examination issued to the victim girl by PW7, Ext.P7 is the discharge certificate issued to the victim girl by PW8 and Ext.P22 is the case sheet of the victim girl maintained at Palana Hospital.