JIWAN GOSAIN Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant Criminal appeal is directed against Judgment of conviction dtd. 29/8/2016 and order of sentence dtd. 31/8/2016 respectively passed by learned Addl. Sessions Judge 1st / Special Judge, S.C./S.T., Bokaro, in SC/ST Case No.08 of 2013 (T.R. No.08 of 2013), whereby the sole appellant has been convicted under Sec. 376 IPC and Sec. 3(1)(xii) of SC/ ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sentenced to undergo RI for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 and in default, to further undergo SI for one year. The appellant has further been sentenced to undergo RI for three years and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000.00 under Sec. 3(1) (x) SC/ ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and in default, to further undergo SI for three months.

(2.) The FIR was lodged at the instance of the victim (P.W.7) herself. She has stated that she is a student of Class-VII and belongs to a poor family. Her parents were poor having eight children. The mother of the victim was unable to take care of all her children, therefore, she requested one Abhiram Sao to keep her daughter. Abhiram Sao got her enrolled in Class-III of Primary School, Bhelwatand (Bagigari) and she was pursuing her school education, while serving them as domestic help. Abhiram Sao and his old aged wife were living in that house and accused, Jivan Gosain was the frequent visitor of their house.

(3.) It is alleged that before nine months of lodging of FIR, one day at about 11 pm in the night, when the victim /informant went out of the residence for urinating, the accused /appellant reached there and forcibly raped her. The informant started weeping and then the accused said her not to say anyone about the occurrence and assured her to marry. After that he continued to come there with knife and under threat continued raping her till January, 2012. When the informant told the accused that she was pregnant, he provided her some tablets, but it was effectless. In the meantime, the accused was put behind bar in the murder case of her brother's wife. Thereafter the prosecutrix called her mother and told about the ill acts of the accused. It is further alleged that on 26/4/2012, the informant and her mother along with some others went to Tenughat Jail to meet the appellant/accused and his father. In the jail, father of the accused said that the whole villagers knew that my son had made the victim pregnant and therefore, the marriage will be performed when we came out of jail. The accused/appellant also repeated the same sentence. When the father of the accused was released from jail, the informant met him, but he refused to even identify her.