BHARATKUMAR MAGANLAL MOCHI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-Bharatkumar Maganlal Mochi has filed this appeal challenging the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 26- 9-1991 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Bhavnagar, in Sessions Case No. 127 of 1990, convicting him for the offences punishable under Sees. 302, 376 and 363 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to suffer R. I. for life for the offence under Sec. 302; R. I. for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 500.00 in default to undergo further R. I. for six months for offence under Sec. 376, and R. I. for three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 250.00 in default to undergo further R. I. for three months for offence under Sec. 363. The learned Judge has ordered the substantive sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) . The facts giving rise to the present appeal can briefly be summarised as under : The appellant, at the relevant time, was serving as an Apprentice Supervisor with Excel Industries Ltd., Bhavnagar. The appellant also used to give part-time tuition in the evening from 5-00 p.m. to 6-00 p.m. to deceased Geeta, who was studying in IXth standard and her brother Arvind, who was studying in VIIth standard. Thereafter, deceased Geeta used to attend typing class from 6-00 p.m. to 7-00 p.m. It is the prosecution case that the appellant was giving tuition to deceased Geeta since last three years prior to the date of the incident. The prosecution case is that because of the intimacy developed between the appellant and deceased Geeta, the appellant used to have sexual intercourse with her with the result Geeta had conceived 5 to 6 months' pregnancy at the time of her death. It is alleged by the prosecution that on 13-5-1990 (sic. 13-7-1990) at 5-30 p.m. deceased Geeta returned from the house of the appellant after attending tuition. Much against her reluctance, at the instance of her father Mithabhai, PW 1, Geeta went to the typing class but did not return home. So her mother Ramuben, PW 2, started making inquiries about her whereabouts along with her brother Arjunbhai, PW 5. They also made inquiries with Dhanjibhai, PW 11, and Vaghjibhai, PW 12 - the uncle (Kaka) and maternal uncle (Mama), respectively, of deceased Geeta. Despite hectic search, Geeta could not be traced. Therefore, Arjunbhai filed complaint before Bhavnagar "B" Division Police Station on 14-7-1990 for missing of the girl Geeta.

(3.) . It appears that on 17-7-1990 a news item appeared regarding find of a dead body of a girl at Platform No. 8 of Ahmedabad Railway Station on 14-7-1990. Pursuant thereto Arjunbhai and other relatives of deceased Geeta came to Ahmedabad and inquired from the Railway Police and ultimately identified the dead body as that of girl Geeta. They thereafter returned to Bhavnagar with the dead body. P.I. Ramkumar Sharma, PW 18, of Bhavnagar "B" Division Police Station, who was in charge of the investigation, in the meantime arrested the appellant and after completion of the investigation, on the basis of the material collected against the appellant, the Investigating Officer filed a charge-sheet.