CHANDER KALA Vs. RAM KISHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ordinarily this Court does not interfere with the acquittal recorded by the High Court in favour of an accused but this Court cannot shirk its, responsibility when it comes accross an acquittal recorded by the High Court in the mom perfunctory manner leading to great injustice and the instant case being one such we proceed to discharge our duty.

(2.) The appellant Smt. Chander Kala (hereinafter called 'the complainant') was working as a teacher in the Govt. Middle School, Pubri since about January 1977 and the respondent Ram Kishan (hereinafter referred to as 'the accused') was the Head Master of that School. The complainant's case was that the accused abusing his superior position used to tease her by cutting indecent jokes with her and also about her in the presence of other teachers with a view to cause annoyance to her. For instance he used to pass a remark (addressing it to her) in the presence of others "when I see you I forget my beloved" as also the remark "we would go to Jail. together and live there in the same cell." According to her on finding some mistake or other in her work he used to call her and make overtures displaying his evil desires which she did not like and sometimes protested. In March 1978 two incidents occurred. On 10th March 1978 when she went to School Nand Kishore (PW 2), another teacher, gave her a message that she should get a statement (or Lists) about the fifth class children of the School signed by him at his residence as he (the accused) was ill and was not going to attend the School that day. Accordingly she went to the residence of the accused at about 11.00 or 11.30 a.m. with that statement (Lists) and placed the same before the accused for his signature but the accused kept aside that statement (Lists) and placed three blank papers (meant for preparing affidavits) before her asking her, to put her signatures thereon and threatened her that if she did not sign them he would spoil her modesty. The accused was alone in the house and apprehending trouble she put her signatures in English and Gurumukhy on those three papers under pressure. She was thus forced to sign on each of the three blank papers at different places, whereupon the accused told her that he could malign and black-mail her by recording any kind of statement on those papers or she should act according to his wishes. The complainant refused and left the place and after reaching home she narrated the incident to her husband. On the following day, that is on 11th March she narrated this incident to some of her colleagues, namely, Gobind Ram, Gian Chand and Smt. Nirmal Mehta (PWs 3, 4 and 5 respectively). Thereafter the accused used to threaten her that he would. make use of those papers. On 18th March 1978 the accused sent for her to see him in his office and when she went there he was all alone and he actually caught hold of her by her arm and tried to outrage her modesty but after pushing him aside she managed to escape. The complainant immediately returned home and reported this incident to her husband and on the very day accompanied by her husband she went to the Police Station and lodged a report (Ex. P-A) on the basis of which a regular FIR was recorded in which offences under Ss. 294,354, 384 and 506 IPC were registered against the accused.

(3.) ASI Gurbachan Singh (P.W.6) to whom the case was handed over for investigation arrested the accused on the same day and during the course of interrogation that followed the accused made adisclosure statement regarding the three papers on which the complainant's signatures had been obtained as also some photographs of the members of the staff (including a cut out of the complainant) and in pursuance of such statement he led the police and the Panchas to his house and he produced the three papers (Exs. P1,P2,P3) and some photographs (Exs. P4 to P7) from a trunk kept in an underground room of his house. These documents were seized under a Memo (Ex P-C) attested by Panch-witnesses.