HANMANT Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD both sides.

(2.) THE present appellant was convicted by the learned Ad hoc Additional Sessions Judge, Osmanabad in Sessions Case No. 2 of 1998 on 24/10/2001 for the offences punishable under section 376 r/w. 511 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay fine of Rs. 2,000/ -. He was further convicted for the offence punishable under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months and to pay fine of Rs. 500/ -. In fact, the charge against the appellant was of commission of rape and offence punishable under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. Aggrieved by the said conviction and sentences, the present appeal is preferred. The prosecution case in short is as under:

(3.) BEFORE the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Osmanabad, in all 12 witnesses were examined. Out of them, PW7 - Chandrakala and PW9 - Sandhya, who were claimed by the prosecution as accompanying the victim and her mother in the field, have turned hostile. The victim was examined as PW1. PW2 is the Medical Officer Dr. Sunita Garad. PW3 is the mother of the victim. PW4 is the father of the victim. Rest of the witnesses are either the carrier of the property or the panch witnesses to the panchanama of the spot of occurrence i.e. PW10 - Nayankumar as well as the panch to the alleged statement made by the appellant leading to the recovery of his clothes i.e. PW6 - Venkatesh however turned hostile.