SATYAJIT MONDAL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, 2nd Court, Malda in POCSO Case No.15 of 2015 (Sessions Trial No.59 of 2015) arising out of G.R. Case No.262 of 2014 and Gazole Police Station Case No.31 of 2014 dtd. 23/1/2014, thereby convicting and sentencing the accused/appellant under Sec. 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafterdescribed as the POCSO Act) for committing offence under Sec. 11 of the POCSO Act.

(2.) A short question involved in the appeal is that if the accused/appellant was identified by the victim girl at the time of trial, although he was not distinctly identified at the time of commission of offence and the victim girl made allegation against the accused only on her assumption, whether subsequent identification in Court sufficiently connects the accused with the commission of offence.

(3.) Prosecution story as revealed from the FIR lodged by the father of the victim girl on 23/1/2014 is that his daughter, i.e., the victim girl aged about 15 years at the relevant point of time was a student of Class-X at Bardanga High School. One Prakash Sammadar of that school and Satyajit Mondal of another school with others proposed her to establish love relation with them. They also used to threaten her with dire consequences in case of her refusal to accept such proposal. The victim girl informed the matter to his father, the de facto complainant. On 17/1/2014 at about 6 p.m. when the victim girl was going to the house of her maternal grandfather, situated in the same village, the accused persons gagged her mouth with a handkerchief and dragged her to some distance.