M RAMACHANDRAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant is the accused in S.C. No. 6 of 1992 before Sessions Court, Wayanad. He was charged for the offences punishable under Sections 376 and 506(1) IPC and Sec. 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short "the Act"). The Court below found him guilty, convicted him and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years under Sec. 376 IPC and rigorous imprisonment for 6 months under Sec. 506 IPC and imprisonment for life under Sec. 3(2)(v) of the Act.

(2.) Crl. A. No. 103 of 1993 is filed by the appellant-accused through the Superintendent of Central Prison challenging the conviction and sentence entered against him. Crl. A. No. 367 of 1993 is also filed by him through counsel. Crl. R.C. No. 24 of 1993 is registered as per the direction of a learned Judge of this Court at the time of calendar revision. All the three cases were heard jointly and are being disposed of by this common judgement.

(3.) The prosecution case is that the accused who was a Security Guard of Priyadarshini Estate, Mananthavady and who was residing in one of the quarters there, raped PW. 1, minor girl, on 2-3-1991 at about 1 p.m. threatening to kill her if she did not accede. She was also warned by him not to tell the incident to anyone. The scene of occurrence was the house of the accused. His wife and children were not present there. They had gone to Vithiri to attend a festival. The accused had asked PW. 1 on 1-3-1991 to come to his house in the afternoon of 2-3-1991 for some household work. When she went she was forcibly taken to the bed-room and is alleged to have been raped by appellant. After the incident PW. 1 was asked to wash herself and the evidence is that she did so. She then returned to her house and told her mother (PW. 2) and her elder sisters about the incident. PW. 3 is Kalyani's husband who is also residing in the same house. All of them are workers in the estate. PW. 1 used to do petty jobs for others whenever required. These persons belong to Paniya community, included in the list of Scheduled Tribes. The accused belongs to an upper caste.