ZELIO SILVESTER DMELLO LATE Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal takes exception to the judgment of conviction rendered by the Children's Court, Panaji pursuant to which it held the appellants guilty of the commission of the offences punishable under sections 8(2) and 8(9) of the Goa Children's Act, 2003 (the Act, for short). The parties would be referred as the appellants and the State for brevity's sake here-in-after.

(2.) The State had filed the charge-sheet against the accused on the premise that about 16 months prior to 30/11/2006 the accused No. 2 had introduced the two minor girls to work as maids in the house of the appellants who thereafter kept them with him, not being related to himby blood without prior written permission of the Director as per the requirements of the said Act and had wrongfully confined the victim, the second appellant assaulted the victim No. 1 and thereby committed an offence under sections 342, 323 read with 34 IPC and section 8(9) of the said Act. The prosecution in support of its case examined 12 witnesses while the appellants examined the second appellant as their witness in defence and closed their case after denying the case of the prosecution as put to them in their statement recorded under section 313 Cr.PC.

(3.) The learned Children's Court on the basis of the material on record came to hold the accused guilty of the offences punishable under Sections 342 and 323 IPC read with 8(2) of the Act and for the offences punishable under section 8(9) of the Act and sentenced them to undergo simple imprisonment for a term of three years and to pay the fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-each, in default to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year each, for the offence punishable under section 8(2) of the said Act and to undergo simple imprisonment for a term of three years each to pay the fine of Rs. 5,000/-each and in default to undergo one year each for the offence punishable under section 8(9) of the Act each and which sentences were ordered to run concurrently and the fine amount ordered to be paid to both the victim girls in equal shares.