PREM CHAND Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals by Special Leave under Art. 136 of the Constitution of India were directed against the Judgment dated 28-11-1985 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh challenging the correctness of the judgments made in Criminal appeals No. 709 of 1984 and 48 of 1985 of the said High Court.

(2.) The appellants herein along with one Ravi Shankar (since acquitted by the High Court) took their trial on the accusations that Ravi Shankar committed rape on, the prosecutrix Suman Rani (examined as PW- 17 before the Trial Court) in the field at Shawani Khera on two occasions i.e. firstly on 15-3-1984 and thereafter on 18-3-1984 and that later on, on 31-5-1984 Ravi Shankar abducted Suman Rani from Bhawani Khera and took her to Jammu via Bhiwani, that the two appellants (who were arrayed as accused Nos. 2 and 3 along With Ravi Shankar and who were Police officials posted in Police Post Patram Gate, Bhiwani) took Ravi Shankar and Suman Rani when they arrived at the bus stand of Bhiwani on their way to Jammu to the said Police Post and put Ravi Shankar and Suman Rani in different rooms and committed rape on Suman Rani one after another and thereafter the appellant Prem Chand took Ravi Shankar and the victim girl to the railway station and left them there. On the said accusations Ravi Shankar took his trial under Ss. 366 and 376 I.P.C. and the two appellants herein under S. 376 I.P.C. It may be stated that there was a joint trial against all the three accused. The Trial Court for the discussions made in the judgment and the reasons assigned therein found all the three accused guilty under the respective charges and convicted thereunder and sentenced Ravi Shankar to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years under each of the charges with the direction that all the sentences were to run concurrently. These two appellants were convicted under S. 376 I.P.C. and each of them was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years as provided under sub-section (2) of S. 376 with an observation that "there is no reason for awarding less than the minimum sentence prescribed". All the three convicted accused preferred separate and independent appeals before the High Court which disposed all the three appeals by a common judgment. The appellate Court acquitted Ravi Shankar of all the charges and set aside the sentences imposed on him on the ground that the prosecution had not successfully proved that the prosecutrix Suman Rani was below 18 years of age and that "she was a willing party and had been going around with Ravi Shankar appellant and had been having sex with him of her free will but dismissed the appeals preferred by these two appellants observing "that the case against these two appellants certainly stands proved beyond a shadow of doubt". Coming to the question of sentence, the appellate Court held that there was no scope for reducing the minimum sentence awarded to each of the appellants who are now before us.

(3.) Mr. Mukhoty, Sr. Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants took us through the recorded evidence of the prosecution witnesses very meticulously for a considerable length of time particularly of PW-1 7 the victim girl, the Medical Officer (PW-4) who on examination of the victim girl gave his opinion that the victim girl was used to have frequent sexual intercourse and parturition and there was no mark of violence of sexual assault on any part of her body, as well of other, Medical Officers, the father of the girl and the Investigation Officers and urged that the victim Suman Rani was a woman of questionable character and easy virtue with lewd and lascivious behaviour and that the very fact that this girl had not complained of the alleged rape said to have been committed at Police Station by these two appellants to anyone till she was interrogated by PW 20 on 28-3-1984 shows that the present version is not worthy of acceptance.