AANNASO SHRIPAL BUKADE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant (original accused) has challenged his conviction and sentence under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC & ST Act) in Sessions Case No.159 of 2006 by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-2, Kolhapur in his judgment dated 26th July 2007.

(2.) The case against the accused was that on 26th August 2006 at about 5 p.m. when the victim girl was going into the field for fetching drinking water the accused dragged her and committed rape on her and that he violated her under the SC & ST Act. The prosecution examined eight witnesses in support of the charge, the main being the prosecutrix and her mother as well the Medical Officer who examined the prosecutrix after the incident. The prosecution has also examined three panchas, one for recovery of clothes of the accused, the other for recovery of the clothes of the victim girl and another for spot panchanama.

(3.) The material evidence in this case is, therefore, of the prosecutrix corroborated by the Medical Report. She has been examined as PW2. Her evidence shows that on 26th August 2006 when she was going to the river with a pitcher for fetching drinking water the accused dragged her into the sugarcane crop and raped her. He fell on her and caused the penetration. She returned to her house and informed her mother. Her father came home at night. On the next day, the FIR was lodged.