MD TAHER ALI Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-Taher Ali has been convicted under Ss. 448 and 376 of the I. P.C. vide judgment and order dated 31-12-2004 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (Ad hoc), Bongaigaon in Sessions Case No. 27(B)/2003. By the impugned judgment, the learned Sessions Judge has sentenced the appellant to undergo R.I. for 7 (seven) years and also to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- for his conviction under S. 376, I.P.C. and one month R.I. has been awarded under S. 448, I.P.C. Two months further R.I. has been awarded for non-payment of fine. Both the sentences have been directed to run concurrently. Being aggrieved with the conviction and sentence the accused has preferred this appeal.

(2.) I have heard Mr. M. U. Mahmud, learned counsel for the appellant as well as Mr. B. S. Sinha, learned Addl. P.P., Assam. I have also gone through the impugned judgment and have also perused the relevant records.

(3.) Shorn of the details, the prosecution case is that both the appellant and the victim women were neighbours and they lived at village Bhaoraguri, under Bijni Police Station. The alleged incident took place on 11-2-1999 at about 1.30 p.m. At that time the victim woman was alone at home and she was feeding her baby. Taking the opportunity of loneliness of the victim woman the appellant entered her dwelling house and subjected the woman to forcible sexual intercourse. Within moments of the incident the step-son of the victim woman came home and the victim's husband also reached home by 3 p.m. They were duly reported about the incident by the victim who was in turn communicated to the village headman. After failing to get the culprit punished by the villagers for two days, the FIR was lodged.