STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. GOPAL NILKANTH JANBANDU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal, the appellant is challenging the judgment and order dated 05.01.2019 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge-1, Gondia (Designated Court) under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as "POCSO Act" for the sake of brevity) in Special (POSCO) Case No.17 of 2018, thereby acquitting the respondent of the charges of commission of offences punishable under Sections 376 (2-f), (i) and (j) and Sections 354-A and 354-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) alongwith Sections 4, 5 (c), (m) and 9 (f) punishable under Section 10 of the POCSO Act.

(2.) Facts, in brief, leading to the prosecution case can be summarized thus: On 02.12.2017, Victim No.2 approached Informant in her bedroom and told about the incident happened with her in school. Victim No.2, who was in frightened condition, narrated to the informant that since one month the accused, in absence of the Headmaster, during school interval intermittently called her and two other victim girls in the classroom, the accused closed doors and windows of the classroom, the accused fell them down under the table and chairs. One day the accused asked her to remove her underwear and thereafter inserted his finger into her private part. Victim No.2 shouted loudly and, therefore, the accused set her free and went out of the classroom. When the Victim No.2 was urinating, there was pain in her private part. She did not tell said incident to her parent, as she was apprehensive that they would be angry on her. she narrated said incident to informant.

(3.) The informant thereafter visited the parents of other two victim girls and after meeting them, it revealed that similar incident had happened with other two victim girls. Parents of all the three victim girls discussed about the incident and thereafter went to the police station and lodged report against the accused on 05.12.2017.