CHUTUKUMAR KABARAR TRIVEDI Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard rival submissions on this appeal preferred by the appellant / original accused challenging his conviction for the offences punishable under Sections 354, 354B, 376(2)(i) of IPC. For the offence punishable under Section 354 of IPC, the appellant is sentenced to suffer RI for three years and to pay fine of Rs.1000. For the offence punishable under Section 354B of IPC, he is sentenced to suffer RI for five years and to pay fine of Rs.2000/. For the offence punishable under Section 376(2)(i) of IPC, he is sentenced to suffer RI for ten years, which is the minimum awarded for the said section and fine of Rs.5000/.

(2.) When the application for bail during pendency of the appeal was taken before this Court earlier, the substantive evidence of the prosecution witnesses was dealt with and that time it was ascertained that instead of deciding the application for bail it would be proper in the interest of justice to dispose of the entire appeal by putting it for final hearing and as such the matter is taken today for final hearing.

(3.) The case of the prosecution in nutshell is that the appellant/accused was residing in the neighbourhood of the family of the complainant. The complainant is the mother of the victim girl. Said girl was then aged about 4 to 5 years when the incident happened in the afternoon of 23.4.2013. The victim girl along with her another sister elder than her and her parents were residing in the slum area in small hutment. The accused was also residing in the same locality and was in fact well known to the family of the complainant. Present appellant was being called as "Chhotu uncle" by the children in the locality and also by the victim girl (PW1). On the relevant afternoon the appellant called the victim girl in his hut and asked her to perform some dance on the music which was being played in his hut. The girl apparently then aged about 4 to 5 years started dancing. That time according to the case of prosecution the appellant removed her petticoat / frock and made her to dance only on the undergarments. Thereafter he asked the girl to take his penis in her mouth. The small child did as per the instructions and in fact felt vomiting sensation and as such started crying. On this the appellant took the child to her house. In fact this is the incident according to the case of the prosecution occurred on that afternoon. Thereafter on that night apparently nothing happened and on the next day early hours the small girl child woke up from the sleep. It happened on the early hours of 24.4.2013. That time the child felt like vomiting sensation and her mother i.e. PW2 complainant took her to the WC and after the vomiting, gave her some medicine in the morning. Thereafter in the evening of 24.4.2013 the complaint was lodged with the police. The complaint was lodged by PW2 mother of the victim girl as what she revealed from the child at the early hours of 24.4.2013. On the strength of the complaint the offence was registered on that night of 24.4.2013 and immediately within two hours the present appellant was put under arrest.