BIPLAB DEBNATH Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision petition is directed against the judgment dated 18 -07 -2005 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, North Tripura, Dharmanagar in Criminal Appeal No. 14(2) of 2005 whereby he partly allowed the appeal filed by the present petitioner and set aside the conviction of the petitioner under section 493 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) but upheld his conviction under section 366 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3(three) years and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/ -(rupees five thousand). The judgment dated 12 -05 -2005 passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, North Tripura, Dharmanagar in case No. S.T. 12 (NT/D) of 2005 was modified accordingly.

(2.) THE prosecution story, briefly stated, is that on 04 -06 -2003 at about 11 a.m. when the prosecutrix was proceeding towards the house of a private tutor by the side of the road near Tehashil Office of Lalcherra, the appellant came in a white coloured Maruti car, kidnapped the prosecutrix for the purpose of having sexual intercourse with her. Thereafter, the mother and father of the prosecutrix went out of search for her but failed to find her. They came to know that the prosecutrix was living in the house of the petitioner from where the prosecutrix was rescued. It would be pertinent to mention that the petitioner is the husband of the elder sister of the prosecutrix but according to the prosecution, the accused -petitioner had driven out his wife after demanding dowry on 31 -05 -2003 about two weeks before the occurrence.

(3.) ACCORDING to the prosecutrix, on the next day, she was again shifted by the accused to the house of his sister at Chandpur under Churaibari Police Station and kept there throughout the day. In the evening, her parents along with neighbours came to this house but the accused gagged her mouth and took her to a room where goats were kept and thus her parents could not find her. Thereafter, the accused along with his sister and mother forcibly applied vermilion to her forehead and also put bangles on both her wrists. She was then taken to the house at Kadamtala and confined there for two months. According to her, she was raped during this period. Thereafter, a case was lodged and the prosecutrix was recovered from the house of the accused. She states that the accused was married to her elder sister and at the relevant time her elder sister was living in her parental house.