Suraj Yadav @ Suraj Gope vs The State Of Jharkhand
2024 Latest Caselaw 1614 Jhar

Jharkhand High Court

Suraj Yadav @ Suraj Gope vs The State Of Jharkhand on 17 February, 2024

Author: Rajesh Shankar

Bench: Rajesh Shankar

             IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
                  Criminal Appeal (D.B.) No. 476 of 2023

        Suraj Yadav @ Suraj Gope                ...   ...     Appellant
                                       Versus
        The State of Jharkhand                  ...   ...     Respondent

        CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR
                   HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN KUMAR RAI
                                   -----

For the Appellant : Mrs. Pinki Kumari, Advocate For the State : Mr. Sanjay Kr Srivastava, A.P.P.

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I.A. No. 548 of 2024

03/17.02.2024 The present interlocutory application has been filed on

behalf of the appellant under Section 389(1) Cr.P.C. for suspension

of sentence awarded to the appellant vide order dated 06.02.2023

passed by learned trial court and for grant of bail during pendency

of the present appeal.

2. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the

appellant has been erroneously convicted and sentenced by the

learned trial court without proper appreciating the evidences on

record. The deposition of P.W-3 (the victim) would itself suggest

that she had gone to the market to bring ginger and from there she

went along with the appellant to his house and thereafter to

Jagarnath Temple, Bokaro where she performed marriage with him

without any coercion. She has also deposed that in her Aadhar

Card, her date of birth is recorded as 2003. If the said date and

year of birth is taken into consideration, the victim was major at the

time of alleged occurrence. It is also submitted that even if Ext-P,

which is an entry regarding the date of birth of the victim in the

Admission Register of Middle School, Kasmar, is taken into

consideration, her age at the time of alleged occurrence was 17 years. Under the said circumstance, the sentence awarded to the

appellant by the learned trial court may be suspended and he may

be released on bail during pendency of the present appeal.

3. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, learned A.P.P appearing

on behalf of the State, while opposing the appellant's prayer for

suspension of sentence, submits that the learned trial court has

rightly convicted the appellant under Section 366-A and 376(1) of

the IPC as well as Section 4(1) of the POCSO Act, as there was

sufficient evidence against him on record.

4. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and on

perusal of the LCR including the impugned judgment rendered by

the learned trial court in Special POCSO Case No. 27 of 2022, we

are inclined to suspend the sentence awarded to the appellant by

the learned trial court vide order dated 06.02.2023 during

pendency of the present appeal.

5. Accordingly, the appellant above named is directed to

be released on bail, during pendency of the present appeal, on

furnishing bail bond of Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand)

with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the

learned Special Judge (POCSO Act), Bokaro in connection with

Special POCSO Case No. 27 of 2022.

6. I.A. No. 548 of 2024 stands disposed of.

(Rajesh Shankar, J.)

(Arun Kumar Rai, J.) Manish