KUMAR @ CHOKKALINGAM Vs. STATE BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Appeal is filed, against the judgement of conviction and sentence, dated 21.12.2015, made in SC.No.182 of 2013, by the Sessions Court (Mahalir Neethimandram) Chennai, (a) acquitting the Appellant/Accused for the offence under Section 506(i) of IPC, (b) convicting and sentencing the Appellant/Accused for the offence under Section 328 of IPC to undergo two years Rigorous Imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1000/-, in default, to undergo a further period of three months Rigorous Imprisonment, (c) convicting and sentencing the Appellant/Accused for the offence under Section 342 of IPC to undergo three months Rigorous Imprisonment, (d) convicting and sentencing the Appellant/Accused for the offence under Section 376 of IPC to undergo seven years Rigorous Imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1000/-, in default, to undergo one month Rigorous Imprisonment, (e) convicting and sentencing the Appellant/Accused for the offence under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act to undergo one year Rigorous Imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default to undergo three months Rigorous Imprisonment and (f) ordering the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of the Prosecution was that on the complaint, Ex.P1 given by the victim, Jenifer, PW.1, alleging that on 12.7.2011 at 3.30 hours, she came out from the School and thereafter, she went to her aunt's house and that while she was returning to her house from her aunt's house, the Appellant/Accused, who was residing at the opposite house to the house of the victim and was standing in front of his house, told her to keep the water pot inside his house as he had sustained injury over his hand in an accident and that the victim kept the water pot inside the house of the Appellant/ accused and at that time, he offered her a drink and on his compulsion, she did drink and she felt giddiness and became unconscious and that the Appellant/ accused told her to lie on the bed and that when she regained consciousness, she found that her dresses were untied and not in order, the Appellant/Accused was charge sheeted for the offences under Sections 342 and 354 of IPC and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Act.

(3.) The case was taken on file in CC.No.904 of 2012 by the X Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore and after serving copies of the records under Section 207 of Cr.PC to the Appellant/Accused, since the case is triable by a Court of Sessions, the case was committed to the Principal Judge, Chennai, who assigned it as SC.No.182 of 2013 and made over to the Sessions Court (Mahalir Neethimandram) Chennai, which had framed charges for the offences under Sections 328, 342, 376 and 506(i) of IPC and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act. The accused had denied the charges and sought for trial. In order to bring home the charges against the accused, the prosecution examined PW.1 to PW.11 and also marked Exs.P1 to P13 and Mos.1 and 2.