SAJAL BANIK Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Ms. Varsha Poddar, learned Legal Aid Counsel appearing for the appellant also heard Mr. R. Saha, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing for the respondent-State of Tripura.

(2.) The appellant, by means of filing the present appeal has challenged the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dtd. 24/2/2021 passed by the learned Special Judge (POCSO), West Tripura, Agartala, in connection with case No. Special (POCSO) 28 of 2019, wherein the appellant has been convicted under Sec. 376(2)(i)(n) of the IPC read with Sec. 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012, and was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life (which would mean remaining course of his natural life) and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000.00 with default stipulation and further convicted under Sec. 506 IPC and sentenced to pay fine of Rs.10,000.00 with default stipulation.

(3.) Brief facts are that, the mother of the informant (PW1) had lodged a complaint with officer in-charge of West Agartala police station on 23/2/2016 stating inter alia that her daughter, aged about 13 years, was noticed by her to express her uneasiness for few months and stopped taking food regularly and also found her daughter remaining silent for most of the time and does not reply the conversation and she also came to know that the menstrual cycle of her daughter had stopped. When doubt raised, the conducted pregnancy test of her daughter through a test-kit and to her surprise the same resulted positive. It was also alleged that after asking, she came to know that during Laxmi Puja her daughter went to meet her friend in the house of the accused where the grandfather of her friend committed misdeed upon her. It was further alleged that after about 10-12 days, the accused again committed the similar misdeed upon her daughter and thereby the informant realized that the accused committed rape upon her daughter. It was also alleged that the accused had threatened her daughter to kill her parents if she reveals the incident to anybody.