Askar Ali Talukdar v. The State of Assam and Anr

PageoNo.#o1/3 GAHC010144102023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o oI.A.(Crl.)/588/2023 ASKARoALIoTALUKDAR S/OoLATEoTASIRoALIoTALUKDAR oRESIDENToOFoHILLoVIEWoMASJIDoPATTY oPSoMARGHERITA oDISToTINSUKIA oASSAM oVERSUS THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDoANR. REPRESENTEDoBYoPPoASSAM 2:MD.oMOHIBULoISLAM S/OoLATEoNURUDDINoISLAM o RESIDENToOFoHILLoVIEW oMARGHERITA oPSoMARGHERITA oDISToTINSUKIA oASSAMo786181 o------------ oAdvocateoforo:oMRoHoRoAoCHOUDHURY Advocateoforo:oPP oASSAMoappearingoforoTHEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDoANR. oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Page No.# 2/3 :: BEFORE :: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PARTHIVJYOTI SAIKIA O R D E R

24.06.2024

Heard Mr. HRA Choudhury, the learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. I.U. Chowdhury, learned counsel appearing for the applicant. Also heard Mr. K. Baishya, the learned Addl. Public Prosecutor, Assam representing Respondent No.1.

¶2This is an application under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for suspension of sentence and for releasing the applicant Md. Askar Ali Talukdar on bail.

¶3The applicant was facing trial for committing the offence under Section 4 of the POCSO Act and under Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code.

¶4While passing the judgment, the learned trial court held that the prosecution failed to prove that the victim was 14 years old at the time of occurrence. Therefore, the trial court acquitted the petitioner from the charge under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. The trial court found that the evidence on record failed to prove the offence under Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code. However, with the help of Section 222(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the trial court convicted the applicant under Section 376(1) of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo 10(ten) years of rigorous imprisonment.

¶5Today, I have gone through the impugned judgment passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, POCSO, Tinsukia in POCSO Case No.172/2022.

¶6I have also gone through the evidence on record.

¶7After going through all those things, it is hereby directed that the judgment dated

16.06.2023 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, POCSO, Tinsukia in POCSO Case No.172/2022 shall remain stayed till disposal of the connected appeal.

¶8It is further directed that the applicant/appellant Md. Askar Ali Talukdar shall be Page No.# 3/3 released on bail of ₹25,000/- with a surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO)/trial court, Tinsukia. The Interlocutory Application is disposed of.

JUDGE Benoy Comparing Assistant