Jharkhand High Court
Sumit Kumar Paswan @ Sumit Paswan @ Guddu ... vs The State Of Jharkhand on 8 May, 2025
Author: Sanjay Prasad
Bench: Sanjay Prasad
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
Cr. Appeal (S. J. ) No 750 of 2024
....
Sumit Kumar Paswan @ Sumit Paswan @ Guddu Paswan
...... Appellant
Versus
The State of Jharkhand ...... Respondent
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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY PRASAD
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For the Appellant : Mr. Pratiush Lala, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Shashi Kumar Verma, A. P. P.
......
Order No: 07/Dated: 08.05.2025
This Criminal Appeal has been filed on behalf of the
appellant by challenging the judgment of conviction dated
03.10.2024 and sentence dated 04.10.2024 passed by the learned
Special Judge, POCSO Act, Dhanbad by which the appellant has
been convicted for the offence under Sections 8 and 12 of the
POCSO Act and sentenced to undergo R.I for four (04) years and
to pay the fine of Rs. 5,000/- for the offence under Section 8 of the
POCSO Act and R.I for three (03) years and to pay the fine of
Rs. 2,000/- for the offence under Section 12 of the POCSO Act.
2. I.A No. 4798 of 2025 has been filed on behalf appellant
for suspension of sentence and for grant of bail during pendency of
this Criminal Appeal.
3. The victim girl aged around 17 and half years had
submitted written application before the Officer-in-Charge on
09.03.2024 alleging therein that the appellant Sumit Kumar
Paswan @ Sumit Paswan @ Guddu Paswan used to tease her
forcibly while she used to go to her college alone and used to see
her with bad intention and threatened her to the extent that she
cannot become of anyone else except him due to which, she was
so scared that she left her college. However, the appellant used to
arrive at her residence by knocking her door and used to touch her
body and threatened her for throwing acid upon her face. It is also
alleged that on 06.03.2024 at around 04:00 P.M to 04:30 P.M in
the evening the appellant had entered into her house and tried to
establish physical relationship with her and due to which she
raised alarm. Then, her mother came running from the parlour and
saved her from the clutches of the appellant Sumit Kumar Paswan
@ Sumit Paswan @ Guddu Paswan.
4. Heard Mr. Pratiush Lala, learned counsel for the appellant
and Mr. Shashi Kumar Verma, learned counsel for the State.
5. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the
impugned judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the
learned Court below are illegal, arbitrary and not sustainable in the
eye of law. It is submitted that the prosecution witnesses have
given contradictory statement against each other. It is submitted
that the date of occurrence is 06.03.2024 and date of institution of
F.I.R is 09.03.2024 and there is an inordinate delay in lodging of
the F.I.R. It is submitted that the victim girl had been in WhatsApp
conversation with the appellant for last several months and her
photographs also reveal about the cordial relationship between the
victim and the appellant and as such, the entire allegations appear
are baseless.
It is further submitted that P.W-6 is the Dr. Priyanka
Chaudhary who has deposed that no external or internal injury was
found upon the body of the victim. It is submitted that the I.O has
deposed that the mother of the victim has not given her statement
that her daughter was standing there and the appellant had caught
hold of her and she had seen that shirt of the appellant was opened
and lower dress of her daughter was also removed.
It is further submitted that D.W-2 is an independent
witness and he deposed that there was Haldi Ceremony in the
village and mother of the victim attended the party and from her
looks it nowhere revealed that any such occurrence took place
with her or her daughter. It is submitted that the appellant had also
been examined as D.W-1 and the appellant had filed several
photographs, which reveal that there was a cordial relationship
between the appellant and the victim girl.
It is submitted that no independent witnesses have
supported the case of the prosecution. It is submitted that the
victim girl has taken one mobile through appellant which was
purchased by the appellant on EMI through Bajaj Finserv and
when the appellant demanded his money back then, the informant
has instituted the present case by making false allegations. It is
submitted that the informant was on visiting terms with the
appellant and used to have photographs together without any
objection. However, the informant made an attempt to not to
disclose about her friendship with the appellant but the annexures
filed herein shows about her good terms with the appellant and her
enitre allegations becomes doubtful.
It is submitted that the appellant has got no criminal
antecedent and the appellant is in judicial custody since
10.03.2024 and hence, the appellant may be enlarged on bail.
6. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State has
opposed the prayer for bail and submitted that the impugned
judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the learned Court
below is fit and proper and no intereference is required.
7. It is submitted that the appellant had committed heinous
offence by threatening the girl continuously and he used to tease
her for the last two (02) years by using force and also threatened
her of throwing acid on her face. It is submitted that the appellant
had tried to establish physical relationship with the victim girl by
force but could not succeed. However, by using force the appellant
had taken some photgraphs with her and started blackmailed her
due to which she was scared and she had even left her studies. It is
further submitted that the victim girl during her statement recorded
under Section 164 Cr.P.C has fully supported her case and has
supported the allegation made in the F.I.R. It is submitted that the
P.W-1 is the victim girl herself and has fully supported her case.
It is further submitted that the appellant had disrobed her
on the date of occurrence and he got himself undressed and tried to
establish physical relationship with her. Then, the mother of victim
girl arrived and saved her. It is submitted that P.W-2 is the mother
of the victim girl who has also supported the prosecution case and
submitted that she had saved her daughter i.e. the victim girl from
the clutches of the appellant and the lower dress of her daughter
was removed and her daughter was crying. It is submitted that
P.W -3, P.W-4 and P.W-5 namely Nisha Devi, Ratan Das and
Mohammad Asgher are the independent witnesses and they have
also supported the prosecution case against the appellant for trying
to molest the victim girl. It is further submitted that P.W-7 namely
Raj Kumar Mahato has also supported and corroborated the
prosecution case and hence, the prayer for bail of the appellant
may be rejected.
8. Perused the Lower Court Records and considered the
submission of both the sides.
9. It reveals from the F.I.R that the victim girl was living
with her widow mother and who is a minor girl and for the last
two (02) years the appellant Guddu Paswan used to caught hold of
her forcibly and threatenend her of dire consequences whenever
she used to go to college and due to which, she was so scared that
she was not in a position to move outside of her house. It further
reveals that the appellant used to touch the body of the victim girl
forcibly and threatened her for throwing acid on her face.
10. It is also alleged in the F.I.R that on 06.03.2024 at around
4 P.M to 4:30 P.M, the appellant forcibly entered into her house
and tried to establish physical relationship with her while she was
alone and her mother came running from the parlour and saved
here from the clutches of the appellant but the appellant had
threatened her to lift her if she failed to obey his command and for
putting her house on fire. Though, there is delay of three (03) days
in lodging the F.I.R but in such circumstances, the daughter of a
helpless widow lady had shown courage to lodge the F.I.R after
the delay of three (03) days and as such, the delay of three (03)
days is not fatal.
11. So far as the evidence of prosecution witnesses is
concerned, it would appear that P.W-1 is the victim girl herself
who stated during her evidence that the appellant was teasing her
for around last three (03) years while she was going to college and
had threatened her for throwing acid on her face due to which, she
left her studies for some period. However, the appellant on
06.03.2024 had entered into her house and removed her entire
clothes including her inner garments and removed his cloth also
and had pounced on her body due to which, she started raising
alarm. Then, her mother came and got the appellant removed from
the body of her daughter but the appellant had threatened her of
dire consequences to the extent that he will not allow her to marry
someone else and putting their house on fire. Thereafter, her
statement was recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C before the
Magistrate which was also marked as Exhibit-P-2. The date of
birth of the victim girl is 15.07.2006.
12. During cross-examination, she stated that she is a student
of Class-12th and presently, she is working in Shankar Mall for the
last 2/3 months. She stated that the parlour of her mother is
adjoining to her house. She claimed to have stated before the
police that the appellant Guddu Paswan came to her house and
removed her clothes. She denied the suggestion that the appellant
Guddu Paswan had given amount to her mother and for which, he
was implicated, however, the defence have not put any question
before the victim girl that the appellant had given mobile to the
victim girl and for which, he had demanded money.
Thus, the allegation of the appellant against the victim
girl is not correct.
13. P.W-2 is the mother of the victim girl and she also stated
during her evidence that on hearing alarm of her daughter, she
went into her house and saw that lower garments of her daughter
was opened and the shirt of the appellant Guddu Paswan was also
opened. Then, she removed him and the appellant had fled away
by giving them threatening and she had instituted this case on 9th
day of the month due to fear.
During cross-examination, she asserted that lower
garments of his daughter was opened.
14. Even P.W-3 stated that on hearing alarm of the victim girl,
she had seen the appellant inside her house and she had also saved
the victim girl from the clutches of the appellant and during cross-
examination, she claimed to be the eye witness of the occurrence.
15. P.W-5 is Mohammad Asgher who has also supported and
corroborated the prosecution case and he had also stated that he
had advised the mother of the victim girl for instituting the case
against the appellant Guddu Paswan who used to tease her
daughter on the way while she was going to her college. Even on
the date of occurrence, he had gone to the residence of the victim
girl and had seen her in weeping condition.
16. P.W-7 is the I.O in this case who has also supported and
corroborated the prosecution case.
17. From persual of the statement of the victim girl recorded
under Section 164 Cr.P.C, it would appear that she has fully
supported her case.
18. So far as the defence witnesses is concerned, it would
appear that D.W-1 is the appellant Sumit Kumar Paswan @ Guddu
Paswan himself and stated that he had given Rs. 1.50 Lakh cash to
the mother of the victimg girl for doing some work in Beauty
Parlour and the said amount was not returned. He denied to have
taken the photographs of the victim girl on his mobile forcibly.
During cross-examination, he claimed to have given the
said amount of Rs. 1.50 lakh to the mother of the victim girl by
cash on 10th September 2023 but he had shown ignorance for not
writing this fact in his bail application.
Therefore, the allegation of giving Rs. 1.50 lakh in cash to
the mother of victim girl is a mere wild allegation.
19. D.W-2 is Rahul Thakur who claimed that the victim girl
and his mother had assembled in his house on the occasion of
Haldi rituals on 07.03.2024 and the mother of the victim girl had
not stated anything about the occurrence and she has not raised
any alarm on 06.03.2024 and both the victim girl and her mother
had appeared.
During cross-examination, he had shown ignorance about
the acquaintance between the appellant and the victim girl.
Thus, the evidence of D.W-1 and D.W-2 are contradictory
to each other. Otherwise, D.W-2 also could have stated about
giving of Rs. 1.50 lakh by the appellant to the mother of the victim
girl, if the appellant was so closed with D.W-2.
20. It appears that due to threatening given by the appellant
and teasing of the victim girl by the appellant, the victim girl was
so scared that she even left attending her college and she is
residing with her widow mother who is running parlour to meet
their day to day expenses and the person like the appellant has
become an obstacle in the study of the victim girl (i.e. P.W-1).
21. In view of the discussion made above, this Court is not
inclined to enlarge the appellant on bail.
22. Accordingly, the prayer for bail of the appellant Sumit
Kumar Paswan @ Sumit Paswan @ Guddu Paswan is, hereby,
rejected at this stage.
23. Thus, I.A No. 4798 of 2025 is, hereby, rejected.
(Sanjay Prasad, J.)
Avinash/
