LAXMAN BABURAO PADWAL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant challenged in this appeal his conviction and sentences under Sections 366, 376 and 506(2) of IPC recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Pune on 29th September 1988 in Sessions Case No.144 of 1986. The appellant was sentenced to RI for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.50/- in default to suffer RI for 7 days under Section 366 of IPC. He was sentenced to RI for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs.50/- in default to suffer RI for 7 days under Section 376 of IPC. No separate sentence was imposed under Section 506(2) of IPC.

(2.) THE aforesaid conviction and sentence was recorded in the following circumstances :

(3.) ON behalf of the prosecution the main evidence is that of the victim girl who was examined as PW 1. Teacher Zavare was examined as PW 2 who corroborated the evidence of the victim girl to the extent that the accused met her at the ST stand and confirmed that he was sent to fetch her because of the accident of her mother and both of them boarded a bus to go to Narayangaon. Peon Sable from the said school was examined as PW 3 who had received message on phone and corroborated the version of the girl about having received the message on telephone about the accident of her mother. PW 4 Ashok Gholap, who is a primary teacher, was examined to depose that a young boy whose name was not known to him had telephoned about 12.30 p.m. on that day from the cloth shop of Ram Kendre to give call at Pimpri Pendhar where the school of the victim girl was situated and paid 50 paise towards the phone call. Prosecution has examined Dr.Jagadish Deshpande as PW 5 who had examined the victim girl as well as the accused on 18-2-86. He was then in-charge of Primary Health Centre at Narayangaon. Vijay Pathak, Clerk from the Secondary School where the girl was studying, was examined as PW 6 to produce the original school register and the school leaving certificate to show the birth date of the girl. Prosecution also examined the mother of the victim girl by name Parvatibai Hande as PW 7 who deposed about the girl narrating the entire incident to her on the following morning. The prosecution has also examined PW 8 Yusuf Jamadar who was working as ST driver in whose ST bus the accused, who was known to him, accompanied by a school going girl had travelled. Even the conductor of the said ST bus by name Maruti Jadhav was examined as PW 9 who supported the prosecution case that the accused and the girl had travelled by that ST bus from Narayangaon to Pimpri Pendhar and two tickets were bought by the accused. The Investigating Officer N.R.Dange was examined as PW 10. After considering the aforesaid evidence and the submissions made on both the sides the trial Court found the accused guilty of kidnapping a minor girl and also committing rape and also having committed offence under Section 504(2) of IPC and hence recorded the order of conviction and sentences as mentioned above.