Criminal Appeal No. 230 of 1997. Case: Suresh Balkrishna Nakhava Vs State of Maharashtra. High Court of Bombay (India)
| Case Number | Criminal Appeal No. 230 of 1997 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: A. P. Mundargi with S. V. Marwadi, Advs. and For State: D. S. Mhaispukar Addl. P. P. and For Applicant-victim: Nitin Pradhan with Ms. Bhavana Jadhav, Advs. |
| Judges | V. P. Tipnis, J. and A. B. Palkar, J. |
| Issue | Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) - Sections 376, 342 |
| Citation | 1998 CriLJ 284 |
| Judgement Date | August 06, 1997 |
| Court | High Court of Bombay (India) |
Judgment:
Palkar, J.
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Admit.
By consent of parties heard forthwith.
This is an appeal challenging the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed against the accused by the Ld. 3rd Addl. Sessions Judge, Raigad, on 3-4-1997, for offences punishable under Sections 376, and 342 of IPC. The appellant has been sentenced for offence punishable under Section 376 of IPC to suffer R I for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- and in default to suffer R I for 3 months and for offence punishable under Section 342 of IPC he is sentenced to suffer RI for 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- and in default to suffer RI for 3 months. After directing that the substantive sentences to run concurrently, the Ld. Addl. Sessions Judge, acquitted the accused for offence punishable under Section 506 of IPC. It is reported that the fine has been deposited by the accused.
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This appeal came up for admission. There is also a prayer for bail. The matter was placed for admission on 7-7-1997, and 14-7-1997. The father of the prosecutrix Ramchandra Masan filed an application as intervenor which is registered as criminal application No. 1847 of 1997, and there was some talk of settlement between the advocate for the intervenor and the advocate for the accused, during the course of which the father of the victim was also present. The wife of the accused also appeared in Court. Although the trauma that the victim has suffered cannot be totally made good by any amount of monetary compensation, such a settlement would atleast help the victim to resettle in her life. Affidavits have been filed by the intervenor as also by the wife of the accused. Both affidavits are taken on record.
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The complaint in this case was lodged on 29-11-1994 by Kum. Punam Ramchandra Masan resident of Navpada Karanja, Tal. Uran, Dist. Raigad contending inter alia therein that she was aged about 14 years. Her mother died long back when she had not even reached the age of understanding. Thereafter her father Ramchandra entered into the second marriage and presently the prosecutrix is living with her father and step mother.
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About 7 to 8 months prior to the filing of the complaint the appellant accused who was residing in close vicinity of the house of the prosecutrix and her father and was also a distant relative of the victim and as such well known to her, called her towards a shack on the pretext of supplying her fire wood. The shack is near the sea shore. The appellant called her inside the shack and thereafter committed rape on her and threatened her not to disclose this incident to anybody. On the 2nd occasion the appellant came to her house in the absence of other family members and there again he had sexual intercourse against her will and by force and this act was repeated at least 10 to 12 times sometime in the shack and some time in the house of the victim. After about 6 months of the first incident, Punam the victim became pregnant and she had pain in her abdomen. Thereupon she complained this to her grandmother and through her the matter was informed to her father. After this a complaint came to be filed and after due investigation into the allegations the appellant accused was chargesheeted for offence punishable under...
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