SUSHIL KUMAR TIWARI Vs. HARE RAM SAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The struggle for sensitivity towards offences against women, children and other marginalized groups passes through various phases of evolution. Whereas, the end goal is most desirable, the journey is not always a pleasant one. At times, the victims find themselves pitched against a system full of insensitive stakeholders and at other times, the victims find themselves in conflict with the procedural intricacies of the laws in place. Despite the importance of procedural sanctity, it is always a matter of utter failure for the system as a whole when a culprit, that too of a heinous sexual offence, manages to walk free by entangling the victim in misapplication of procedural rules, without the knowledge of the victim and without any control of the victim. The present case presents one such illustration from a place called Piro, District Bhojpur, Bihar.

(3.) In 2016, a few months after the festival of Holi, the victim - the appellant's daughter - started feeling unwell. Upon finding that her health was constantly deteriorating, the appellant's wife took their daughter to her native place in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh for treatment. There, she was taken to Zila Mahila Chikitsalaya on 1/7/2016 and upon examination, the victim was found to be 3 months pregnant. Upon questioning, she disclosed that she was raped by the respondents, namely, Hare Ram Sah and Manish Tiwari about 3-4 months ago, sometime after the festival of Holi. On the strength of this disclosure, the appellant lodged a complaint at PS Piro, District Bhojpur, Bihar on 2/7/2016, which culminated into FIR/Criminal Case No. 209/2016. Investigation commenced and chargesheet was filed in the concerned Court.