High Court Of Tripura vs The State Of Tripura
2022 Latest Caselaw 408 Tri

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                     HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
                           AGARTALA
                            Crl. A(J) 25/2020
Sri Samir Paul
S/O- Late Ananta Kumar Paul of
West Piparia Khola, Paul Para
P.S- P.R. Bari, Dist- South Tripura
                                                             .....Appellant.
                                      Versus
The State of Tripura
                                                           .....Respondent.

BEFORE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARINDAM LODH

For the Appellant : Mr. A. Acharjee, Advocate

For the Respondent : Mr. S. Debnath, Addl. P.P

Date of hearing and delivery of judgment & order : 07.04.2022

Whether fit for reporting : NO

JUDGMENT & ORDER (ORAL)

Heard Mr. A. Acharjee, learned counsel appearing on behalf

the appellant. Also heard Mr. S. Debnath, learned Addl. P.P appearing on

behalf of the State-respondent.

2. This appeal is directed against the impugned judgment and

order of conviction and sentence dated 30.05.2020, passed by Ld. Sessions

Judge, South Tripura, Belonia, in case No. ST 02 (Type-1) of 2017 Page 2

whereby and whereunder the appellant has been convicted U/S 307 of IPC

and sentenced him to suffer R.I. for 5 (Five) years and to pay a fine of Rs.

10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) for the said offence, in default to pay fine,

the appellant shall suffer further S.I. for 3 (three) months. The appellant is

further convicted under section 354 of IPC and sentenced him to suffer R.I.

for 1 (one) year and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- (five thousand) for the said

offence, in default to pay fine, the appellant shall suffer further S.I. for 1

(one) month.

3. The facts of the case as projected by the Ld. trial Judge, are as

under:

" The fact of the case in brief is that, on 30.11.2015 at about 1200 hours the informant Smt. Bhulu Paul was busy with her work in her house and at that time hearing the screaming voice of her neighbour i.e. the victim (name not disclosed) she went to the house of the victim and found other two neighbourers of the victim namely Smt. Swapna Biswas and Smt. Mamata Paul were brought the victim at the courtyard of their house with severe bleeding injuries upon her left ear, neck and back side. In the meanwhile, other neighbourers of the victim also assembled in that house and on being asked the victim stated that she went at the Eastern bank of their pond for grazing their cow and at that time accused Samir Paul of their locality forcefully taken her to a nearby jungle by pressing her mouth and tried to commit rape on her. The victim started scuffling with the accused Samir Paul and while she started shouting and freed herself from the clutches of the accused, then accused Samir fell down her and dealt blows on her with a dao and fled away from there with his dao seeing Smt. Swapna Biswas, Smt. Mamata Paul and others were coming towards the spot. It is also stated that since the accused failed to fulfill his ill-intention, he chopped the victim with Page 3

a view to kill her. Thereafter, the victim was shifted to Barpathari PHC and from there she was referred to Belonia hospital for treatment."

4. After registration of the case, the allegations levelled in the

complaint had been investigated. During the course of investigation, the

investigating officer recorded the statements of the victim as well as other

witnesses. Having satisfied with the complicity of the accused relating to

the offence, he submitted charge-sheet against the accused.

5. After receipt of the charge-sheet, cognizance was taken and the

case was committed to the court of Ld. Sessions Judge, Belonia as the case

was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court. Charge was framed under

Sections 307 and 376 read with Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code. The

contents of the charges were read over and explained to the accused, to

which he pleaded not guilty and desired to stand the trial.

6. Prosecution to establish the offence had adduced as many as

19 (nineteen) witnesses and introduced some documents including medical

examination reports of the victim girl.

7. On closure of the evidence, the accused was examined under

Section 313 Cr.P.C to which he denied all the incriminating circumstances

surfaced against him in the evidence on record. Thereafter, having heard the

learned counsel appearing for the parties and after perusal of the record, the

learned Sessions Judge convicted and sentenced the accused as aforestated.

Page 4

8. Feeling aggrieved, and dissatisfied with the said order of

conviction and sentence, the accused has preferred the instant appeal before

this court.

9. I have heard Mr. A. Acharjee, learned counsel appearing for

the convict-appellant as well as Mr. S Debnath, learned Addl. P.P.

appearing on behalf of the State-Respondent.

10. I have perused the records and after perusal of the same it

comes to light that the victim of the incident is PW3. I have seen her

statements she made before the Ld. Magistrate who recorded the statements

of the victim under Section 164(5) of Cr.P.C. In her 164(5) statement she

has categorically stated that while she was feeding water to her cow, all on

a sudden the convict-appellant came from the backside and tied her mouth

with her saree and pulled her hair and dragged her to the jungle. The

convict-appellant told her that he would commit rape upon her when she

started shouting. In the meanwhile, the convict-appellant had torn her

blouse in a single stroke. She tried to resist all the attempts of the convict-

appellant but the accused inflicted severe injuries to her persons including

her breast (chest) by a 'dao' (a sharp weapon). After a short while, Swapna

Biswas, PW-1 rushed to the spot who was a neighbour. Others also had

arrived at the spot and lifted her to the courtyard of their house where from

she was shifted to the hospital. This statement recorded under Section Page 5

164(5) of Cr.P.C has led me to scrutinize her deposition. From the

deposition of the victim (PW-3), it is found that she corroborated the entire

facts and circumstances which she made in her earlier statements recorded

by the learned Magistrate under Section 164(5) Cr.P.C. The victim was first

taken by the neighbours to the Barpathari Hospital wherefrom she was

taken to Belonia Hospital, but, considering the seriousness of injuries she

was referred to a hospital at Agartala. The victim narrated the incident to

the local people who assembled in the courtyard. She identified the convict-

appellant in the dock.

11. Next most of vital witness is Swapna Biswas (PW-1) who

arrived at the place of occurrence after hearing the hue and cry of PW-3.

She wholly supported the versions of PW-3. She further deposed that she

had seen the convict-appellant along with a 'dao' in his hand and on her

arrival the convict-appellant had fled away.

12. Next vital witness is Mamata Paul who also arrived at the

place of occurrence when she found bleeding injuries at different parts of

the body of the victim (PW3). All the prosecution witnesses who arrived at

the spot and thereafter at the courtyard where PW3 was taken first,

corroborated the versions of the victim.

13. I have closely examined the medical examination report

prepared by the doctor who treated her. After perusal of the same, I find the Page 6

observations of the doctor wholly corroborated the injuries suffered by the

victim PW-3. Another important feature as surfaced in course of evidence

is that, the 'dao' (sharp cutting weapon) has also been seized. PW5 and

PW7 are the witnesses who accompanied the investigating team to discover

the weapon of offence i.e. 'dao' being led by the accused-appellant. The

said 'dao' was also identified by the investigating officer.

14. In view of the aforesaid overwhelming evidences, I am in no

mood to interfere with the findings of the Ld. trial Court. Accordingly, I

find no merit in this appeal and the same is dismissed. The judgment and

order of conviction and sentence as recorded by Ld. Sessions Judge stands

upheld and affirmed.

The convict-appellant Sri Samir Paul is directed to surrender

before the court of Ld. Sessions Judge, Belonia, South Tripura within a

period of 2 (two) weeks from today. It is made clear that if the convict-

appellant fails to surrender, the Ld. Sessions Judge shall ensure his arrest to

suffer the remaining period of sentence in terms of the judgment and order

of conviction and sentence recorded by the court.

Send down the LCRs.

JUDGE Snigdha