Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

1. This appeal is preferred against the judgment dated 14/17-8-1987 passed by the Sessions Judge, Karwar, Uttara Kannada convicting the accused-appellant for the offences punishable under Ss. 366, IPC and 376, IPC and contencing him to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- for the offence punishable under S. 366, IPC and to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- for the offence punishable under S.376, IPC. The facts constituting the case of the prosecution, briefly stated, are as under :-

3. In the meantime, P.W. 3 Prabhakar Prabhu, the father of P.W. 5 - Prafulla got up from his sleep at about 4.30 a.m. on 16-5-1986. He found his daughter Prafulla missing. He searched for her in the bedroom and elsewhere in the house, but to no avail. After finding that the girl was disappearing from the house, he awakened his wife. Thereafter P.W. 3 went in a jeep to Karwar Bus Stand generally used to leave at 5.30 a.m. However, he did not find his daughter there. He went to Karwar Town Police Station and gave a missing complaint as per Ex. P. 28 to P.W. 21 - Ravikumar who registered a case in Crime No. 136/86. Thereafter, P.W. 3 made enquires in the house of his relatives and started searching for his daughter. However, she was not to be found anywhere in the locality. It came to the notice of P.W. 3 Prabhakar Prabhu that the accused was also missing from his house. He, therefore, smelt a rat. To check up as regards the whereabouts of the accused P.W. 3 met his elder brother and made enquires in that behalf. Elder brother of the accused informed P.W. 3 that on the night of 15-5-1986 the accused had left for Belgaum for some work and that he was likely to return within a couple of days. After waiting for two more days P.W. 3 again approached the elder brother of the accused. With the assistance of the elder brother of the accused, a phone call was booked to P.W. 10.- Abdul Gani at Bombay. Abdul Gani when contacted on phone informed that the accused and P.W. 5 Prafulla were at Bombay. He also informed them that the accused was advised by him to go back to Karwar along with Prafulla. Naturally, therefore, P.W. 3 Prabhakar Prabhu waited for two or three days with the hope that the accused would return to Karwar along with his daughter. On 27-5-1986, Abdul Gani was again contacted. P.W. 3 came to know from him that the accused and his daughter who had left Bombay again came back to Bombay as they had no mind to go to Karwar. P.W. 3 took the address of Abdul Gani at Bombay from the brother of the accused and he left for Bombay and reached Bombay on 29-5-1986. After reaching Bombay P.W. 3 went to Andheri Police Station and informed the Inspector as regards as to what transpired. The Police Inspector after verifying the address of Abdul Gani informed P.W. 3 to contact Sahar Airport Police Station as the residence of the person at the address shown by P.W. 3 came within the jurisdiction of the said Police Station. Thereafter, P.W. 3 and the Constable contacted Abdul Gani who was working at Godrej Philips India at about 3.30 p.m. They were informed by Mr. Gani that the accused and Prafulla had come to his house the previous day and had gone back from his house. Thereafter, P.W. 3 and the Constable went to the house of Mr. Gani along with the latter. When they went there, P.W. 3 found accused and his daughter sitting on a cot along with the family members of Mr. Gani. The Constable told them that there was a complaint against them, with the result, all of them came to the Sahar Airport Police Station. It appears P.W. 3 who had come earlier to the said Police Station had given a complaint as per Ex. P8 to P.W. 9 Sridhar. On the basis of the information as per Ex. P. 8 P.W. 9 Sridhar took charge of the girl under S. 78 of the Children's Act and arrested the accused under S. 41 for an offence punishable under S. 366, IPC. He made the necessary entries in the lock-up register at Ex. P. 9. On the same day, he sent the girl to Children's Home for safe custody. On the next day, i.e., 30-5-1986 Prafulla was produced before the Juvenile Court for Remand and the accused was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate, 22nd Court, Andheri and he was remanded to Police custody. On 31-5-1986 the accused and the girl were taken to Police Hospital, Nagpada. In the meanwhile, P.W. 3 contacted his wife Geetha and instructed her to file a complaint before the Karwar Police Station against the accused. P.W. 3 also approached the Juvenile Court on 30-5-1986 and made the necessary application for taking back his daughter.

4. In the meantime, P.W. 21 Ravikumar, P.S.I., Karwar Town Police Station on information given by P.W. 4 - Geetha registered a case in Crime No. 136/1986 of Karwar Town Police Station for the offence punishable under S. 366, IPC and after completing the initial formalities proceeded to Bombay on 30-5-1986. He gave an application to the 22nd Metropolitan Magistrate to give the custody of the accused to him. The Metropolitan Magistrate allowed the application. The custody of the accused was given to P.W. 21 Ravikumar. The Juvenile Court directed the custody of the minor girl to be given to her father P.W. 3 - Prabhakar Prabhu. All of them came to Karwar. P.W. 22 - Balasaheb Patil, Dy. S.P. took over the further investigation from P.W. 21 - Ravikumar. He also visited Bombay. After completing the investigation he filed the charge-sheet against the accused on 11-11-1986 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karwar. On the same day he sent a requisition letter as per Ex. P. 31 to Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karwar praying that the Sections of the IPC referred to therein be added with reference to Crime No. 136/86 of Karwar Town Police Station.

5. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karwar committed the case of the accused to the Court of Sessions at Karwar. The learned Sessions Judge framed the charges for the offences punishable under Ss. 366, I.P.C. and 376, I.P.C. against the accused. In support of the case of the prosecution, the prosecution examined 23 witnesses. Exhibits P1 to P31 and M.Os. 1 to 17 were marked for the prosecution. During the course of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, the photographs as per Exts. D2 to D7 and the specimen signature of the prosecutrix as per Ext. D1 were also marked. After examining the accused under S. 313, Cr.P.C. and on a consideration of the evidence on record, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the accused-appellant for the offences with which he was charged. The accused was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and a fine of Rs. 1,000/- for each of the aforesaid offences with a further direction that the substantive sentences shall run concurrently. Hence, the instant appeal.