CHANTHU Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein has been arrayed as the sole accused in the instant Crime No.1025/2019 of Thrikunnapuzha Police Station, Alappuzha, registered for offences punishable under Secs.506, 451 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Secs.3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, 2012. The abovesaid crime has been registered on the basis of the First Information Statement given by the minor victim girl aged 15 years on 30.08.2019 at about 8 p.m., in respect of the alleged incident which happened on the previous day (29.08.2019) at about 11.30 p.m. in the night.

(2.) The prosecution case in short as revealed from the FI Statement of the victim is that the date of birth of the minor victim is 22.05.2004 and that she is now studying in Std.XI for higher secondary course and that she was having intimacy and love affair with the petitioner/accused now aged 20 years since she has been studying in Std.IX and that at some point of time, her parents came to know about her love affair and they admonished the girl and she had stopped the love affair and of late again they had revived the old affair. Thereafter, she had come recently to her house on 29.08.2019 for attending a wedding of the family relative and that there she had met the petitioner, who had given her a mobile phone. Further that, on 29.08.2019, he had come near her residence at about 10p.m. in the night and telephonically asked her to open the door and she refused. But then he threatened her that he would divulge their love affair to everyone and fearing with the consequences, she opened the door and there he had forcible sexual intercourse with her despite of protest. That her mother felt something unusual happening in her room and the mother came to her room and found that the petitioner was there hiding underneath the bed of the victim girl. The petitioner has been arrested in this case on 30.08.2019 and after his remand, he has been under detention since then.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner would point out that the victim girl has narrated in the earlier portion of her FIS that on a previous occasion in the same month, the petitioner had come on his motorcycle in her house and when some relatives had seen him, he had kept the motorcycle and had fled away, etc. This would clearly indicate the allegation that the petitioner had threatened the victim on the day in question, etc. are false and motivated. Further that, the allegations of sexual intercourse are false and fabricated. The learned counsel for the petitioner would point out that the petitioner has been under detention for the last 87 days, so that so far the police has not completed the investigation and that in all likelihood, the Investigating Agency will not be able to file the final report/charge sheet in the instant case within the statutory default deadline time of 90 days from the remand of the petitioner/accused which is to expire on 28.11.2019, which is hardly three days from today. Hence it is pointed out that in all likelihood the petitioner is even otherwise likely to be released on statutory default bail going by the prescriptions contained in the proviso to Sec.167(2) of the Cr.P.C.