BISHAL LAMGADEY Vs. STATE OF SIKKIM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By filing this appeal, the appellant assails the judgment and sentence dated 11-12-2015 of the Court of Special Judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter "POCSO"), East Sikkim at Gangtok, in S.T. (POCSO0 Case No. 17 of 2014 and prays therein that the impugned judgment and order be set aside.

(2.) Although, while filing the appeal, the grounds averred thereto were that the learned trial Court failed to appreciate the facts and circumstances and the documentary evidence on record and reached an erroneous finding and hence the above prayer, however, while placing his verbal arguments before this Court, learned counsel for the appellant, submitted that he had no quarrel with the impugned judgment, but he only sought to assail the sentences meted out since imprisonment was imposed both under S. 376(2)(i) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter "IPC" and under S. 4 of the POCSO, for the offence of rape.

(3.) There being no challenge to the judgment, therefore, the facts are not discussed in detail, suffice it to say that the appellant, a man of 40 years, was found guilty of having sexually assaulted a minor victim of 14 years and was consequently convicted and sentenced as detailed in the impugned order on sentence which reads as follows :