GOPU Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein has been arrayed as the sole accused in the instant Crime No.1672/2019 of Thiruvananthapuram Peroorkada Police Station, which has been registered for offences punishable under Sections 7, 8 9(n) and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, on the basis of the First Information Statement given by the lady defacto complainant (mother of the minor victim boy) on 17.07.2019 at about 2 p.m in respect of the alleged incident, which had happened on 5.07.2019.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that the petitioner/accused, aged 58 years, is an unmarried man, who is living along with his brother (who is the minor victim boy's father) and brother's wife (victim boy's mother) as well as yet another brother of the petitioner, who is also an unmarried and that all of them are residing together in their family house and that on 5.7.2019, at about 2.45 p.m, the petitioner/accused had made the minor victim boy, aged 12 years (who is the petitioner's brother's son) hold the genital part of the petitioner and that the petitioner had pressed the genital organ of the boy causing him pain etc. The petitioner has been arrested in this case on 19.7.2019 and after his remand, has been under detention since then.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner would point out that the above said allegations are absolutely false and fabricated and that the truth of the matter is otherwise. The above said criminal proceedings has been falsely foisted on the petitioner by the minor victim boy's parents (who are the petitioner's above said brother and brother's wife respectively) to grab the property which is under the co-ownership of the petitioner and further that the petitioner and another of his unmarried brother, the parents of the minor victim boy and the victim boy are staying together in their family house, which is situated in the landed property consisting of 7 cents, of which the petitioner is the one of the co-owners and that there are civil disputes regarding the partition of the ancestral property in the house in which the petitioner and the other siblings are living and that the minor victim boys wants to oust the petitioner from the said property by falsely foisting the above said case and also to put pressure on him so as to relinquish his property right in favour of the parents of the minor victim boy. Further that, as a matter of fact, on 3.7.2019, the minor victim boy's father and mother had poured hot boiling water down from the oven to a lower belly of the petitioner as a result of which he has sustained 20% serious burn injury from his chest down upto his abdomen including his genital area and the petitioner was forced to leave the ancestral house and had sought the help of his friends and after first aid, he was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram on 3.7.2019 and thereafter, the said Hospital had referred the petitioner's case for further treatment at the Government General Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram where he continued his treatment as an inpatient and he was arrested from the said Hospital on 19.7.2019 and all throughout for the period from 3.7.2019 to 19.7.2019, the petitioner was either at the Medical College Hospital or in the Government General Hospital and that the above said sexual incident said to have happened on 5.7.2019, which is two days after the petitioner had suffered serious burn injuries, is absolutely without any factual basis. Further that, the petitioner herein had approached this Court by filing Anneuxre-A2 Crl.M.C.No.5819/2019, wherein this Court had directed the District Police Chief concerned to consider the entrustment of the further investigation in this case to an independent superior officer so that the truth of the matter is brought out. Further it is also stated by the petitioner that in compliance of the direction issued by this Court in Annexure-A2 order dated 19.8.2019 in Crl.M.C.No.5819/2019, the District Police Chief has already entrusted the investigation of this case to the superior officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police etc.