ROSHAN KRISHNAJI DHURVE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Exception is taken to the judgment dated 28-7-2017 rendered by the Special Judge, Nagpur in Special Child Protection Case 83/2014, by and under which the accused is convicted for offence punishable under Section 6 read with Section 5(m) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) and is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to payment of fine of Rs.25,000/-, and in default to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for one year.

(2.) The genesis of the prosecution case is in report lodged by the mother of the child victim PW 4-Laxmi Dhurve on 27-3-2014 at Kondhali Police Station, the gist of which is that PW 4 is engaged in labour work and resides along with her husband and daughter, aged 7 years, who is studying in the 1st Standard of Zilla Parishad School. On 27-3-2014 at 11-00 a.m. Laxmibai left the house for attending the labour work, her husband was at home since he did not have work, her daughter-the child victim (PW 3) had gone to school. When Laxmibai returned home at 7-00 p.m., the child victim disclosed that when she was playing in the village, at 2-00 p.m. or thereabout the accused called her to his home and said "I will pay you Rs.100/- if you allow me to have sex with you" (this is broad translation of the vernacular). The accused asked the child victim to remove her knicker, which she refused, the accused forcibly removed her knicker and caressed her breast. The hands and legs of the child victim were held and she was forced to lie on the ground and was subjected to forcible sexual intercourse (the vernacular word used in the report is "LkaHkksx"). Laxmibai narrated the disclosure by the child victim to her husband-Laxman (PW5) and then Laxmibai, Laxman and the child victim went to the Kondhali Police Station to lodge report (Exhibit 70).

(3.) The prosecution examined ten witnesses. PW 1-Suresh Bhoyar registered the crime on 28-3-2014, PW 2-Devidas Masram is the witness to the spot panchanama, PW 3 is the child victim, PW 4- Laxmibai is the mother of the child victim, PW 5-Laxman is the father of the child victim, PW 6-Chanda Masram is the Sarpanch of the village to whom the incident was disclosed, PW 7-Dr. Sushant Bahadul examined the child victim at PHC, Kondhali, PW 8-Dr. Mangala Sonak is the Assistant Professor who examined the child victim at the Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur, PW 9-Jiteh Kanpure is the Investigating Officer and PW 10- Dr. Dinesh Akarte was examined to prove the opinion of Dr. Krunal Sirsat who examined the accused at GMC and who was not available to depose since he was critically ill from Blood Cancer.