JITHIN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein has been arrayed as the sole accused in the instant crime No. 577/2019 of Ottapalam Police Station, which has been registered for the offences punishable under Secs. 376(2)(f) of the IPC and Secs.3, 4, 5n and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The FI statement in this case has been given by the minor victim girl on 18.09.2019 at about 6.20 p.m. in respect of the alleged incident which happened on 12.09.2019 at about 11.59 p.m. in the night.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is the petitioner/accused aged 22 years is the maternal first cousin of the minor victim girl, aged 17 years and that on 12.09.2019, she along with her brother had gone to the 'tharavadu' house of the mother's family during Onam holidays, where the petitioner/accused was also there. All of them had resided at the same house on the night of that day. In the night, she slept in a room, where her brother, her sister's daughter and the petitioner had slept. In the night, the petitioner had come near her and removed her dress and pressed his genital part near her private part for 5 minutes. The petitioner has been arrested in this case on 19.09.2019 and after his remand, has been under detention since then.

(3.) The counsel for the petitioner would point out that the abovesaid allegations are false and baseless and further that it would have been made presumably out of misunderstandings of the minor victim girl and further, it is pointed out that the allegation that the accused had pressed his genital part near the genital area of the lady victim will not constitute the ingredients of even the broad end definition of rape as per Sec.375 of the IPC or the corresponding provision for penetrative sexual assault as per Sec.3 of the POCSO Act and had best reference for non- penetrative sexual assault as envisaged in Sec.7 of the POCSO Act might lie in that case.