KUMUDI LAL Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has been convicted for committing offences punishable under Sections 376 and 302, IPC and Section 3 (ii) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. For the offence punishable under Section 302, IPC death sentence has been imposed upon him. The appellant is challenging his conviction and sentence imposed under those Sections.

(2.) The prosecution case was that on 7-9-95 at about 7.00 a.m. Kumari Marri, aged about 14 years had gone to ease herself in a field near her house and that while she was so doing, the appellant pounced upon her, pinned her down on the ground, committed rape and when she started resisting and raising shouts, strangulated and killed her by tying her Salwar around her neck. It was also the prosecution case that hearing her shouts her father Mihilal (PW-1) and Avadh Ram (PW-2) who had also gone near that field for answering the call of nature, rushed to that place. It was also the prosecution case that they had seen the appellant committing rape and on seeing them the appellant got up and ran away. They had also chased the appellant but he was able to escape.

(3.) In order to prove its case, besides the medical and other evidence the prosecution had led the evidence of Mihilal (PW-1), Avadh Ram (PW-2) who were the eye-witnesses. Believing their evidence the trial Court convicted the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 376 and 302, IPC and also under Section 3 (ii)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. As the trial Court had imposed death sentence upon the appellant for the offence of murder, it forwarded the record to the High Court for confirmation of that sentence. The appellant also filed an appeal challenging his conviction. The High Court after re-appreciating the evidence, agreed with the findings recorded by the trial Court and confirmed the death sentence by observing as under: