RANJITH, S/O NARAYANAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused is the revision petitioner. He challenges concurrent findings of guilt u/s 376 of IPC against him.

(2.) The victim and her mother, both illiterate, were residing at their residential house situated at Puliyamkulam, Parappa Village. Both of them were working as a coolie at a nearby quarry. The accused was working at a furniture shop situated near to the house of the victim. Admittedly the victim and the accused got acquainted and they fell in love eventually. They decided to marry. The prosecution allegation is that, one day in the third week of December 2009, at 11.00 p.m, the accused went to the house of the victim, had sex with her and made her pregnant on false promise of marriage.

(3.) The Vellarikkundu police registered crime against the accused on the basis of the First Information Statement (Ext. P1) given by the victim after three months of the alleged incident. After hearing both sides, the trial Court framed charge against the accused u/s 376 of IPC. He pleaded not guilty. After trial, the trial Court found the accused guilty u/s 376 of IPC, convicted and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months. In appeal, the appellate Court confirmed the conviction and sentence. The conviction was based mainly on the oral testimonies of the victim and her mother who were examined as PWs1 and 2 respectively.