RAMESHWAR SHRAWAN IWANATHE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellantaccused was charged for the offence punishable under Section 376(2)(f)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with Sections 5(1)(n) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act). The accused was also charged for the offence punishable under Section 506 of IPC. In Special (Child) Case No.25 of 2014, the learned Special Judge under POCSO Act, at Wardha, has convicted the accused for all the aforesaid offences and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/, in default, to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months, for the offence under Sections 5(1)(n) and 6 of POCSO Act. The accused is also sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/, in default, to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for a period of two months, for the offence under Section 506 of IPC. It is recommended that the District Legal Services Authority, Wardha, to pay the compensation to the victim under Section 357A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is as under :

(3.) During the investigation, the doctor collected the blood samples of the victim as well as the accused in a sealed condition, which was forwarded to the Chemical Analyzer. In January 2014, the victim gave birth to a child, whose blood sample was also collected and sent it to the Chemical Analyzer in a sealed condition. PW 6 Vaishali Mahajan, working as Assistant Chemical Analyzer with Forensic Science Laboratory, gave her opinion in the reports at Exhibits 42 and 43, concluding that the accused and the victim are the biological parents of the child. Victim Ku. Kavita entered the witnessbox and was examined as PW 1; her aunt Sunita Uike was examined as PW 2; one neighbourer Sindhubai Bawane was examined as PW 3; Raju Bramhane, in whose field the victim was left over by the accused, was examined as PW 5; Dr. Indrajit Khandekar, who examined the victim and submitted his reports about the pregnancy of the victim at Exhibit 37 and 38, was examined as PW 4; API Vaishali Totewar, who narrated the proceedings followed in the investigation, was examined as PW 7; and one Dharmapal Kamble, who was acting as a panch, was examined as PW 8.