SUDHEER Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We are again confronted with a case in which the father is alleged to have sexually molested his daughter and the defence, as often alleged, is of the enmity of the mother against the father.

(2.) The accused stood trial and was convicted under Section 3 r/w Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (in short, the 'POCSO Act') to imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000.00 with default sentence. A further sentence of rigorous imprisonment for one month was imposed under Section 323 IPC. The substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently and there was no separate sentence for the offence under Section 376 in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act.

(3.) The learned counsel for the appellant, Shri M.Sreekumar argued that there are inconsistencies in the successive statements which throws great suspicion on the testimony of the prosecution. The prosecutrix had different versions in the FIS, her Section 164 Statement and the deposition before Court. There were embellishments made at each stage and the deposition, the last of such stages, shows four instances of molestation. It is pointed out that a child who was repeatedly molested would not react in the manner she did on the last of such occasions; 03.10.2015 and be with the father in a room alone. It was pointed out that while the prosecutrix says that she, along with her father was sitting in the room of her brother, the mother PW4 deposes that she saw the daughter and father in the Hall room. It is very unlikely that molestation would have been carried out by the father, when there was a Kudumbasree meeting going on just in front of the house. The evidence of the maternal aunt and the mother varies insofar as the frequent visits made by the brother-in-law of the mother to the residence of the victim. The totality of the evidence would reveal that the accused was suspicious about the conduct of the brother-in-law of his wife and the allegations are cooked up as a counter blast by the wife's family. The learned counsel prays for acquittal of the accused.