DILIP VERMA Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is challenging the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 3/2/2017 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Khairagarh, District Rajnandgaon in ST No.11/2014 whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under Sec. 376 (1) of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo RI for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000.00, in default of payment of fine to further undergo additional RI for 1 month.

(2.) The prosecution case is that on 18/10/2014, the prosecutrix (PW-11), aged about 14 years, was residing along with two small children in the house of her maternal uncle Churaman Verma (PW-1) at village Salhewara, PS Gatapar. The appellant, who is known to the family, came to the house and asked about her maternal uncle. When she informed that all of them had gone to the field for cutting Soyabeen crop, the appellant took the prosecutrix to the forest behind her house and when she cried, the appellant stuffed her mouth with a piece of cloth and committed rape. When Churaman Verma (PW-1) returned from the field in the evening, he found that the victim was sleeping and when they tried to wake her up, she did not respond and also blood was coming from her private part. They thought that due to menstrual cycle such bleeding was occurring. After 2 days of the incident, when the victim returned from the hospital, she narrated the incident to Churaman Verma, her maternal uncle. The maternal uncle consulted with the father and mother of the victim and thereafter on 24/10/2014, a written complaint (Ex.-P/9) was lodged by the prosecutrix and on that basis FIR No.46/2014 (Ex.-P/10) was registered.

(3.) The prosecutrix was medically examined vide Ex.-P/7. Sub Inspector Jitendra Kosle, IO, prepared the spot map (Ex.-P/6) and seized Kotwari Register in which the date of birth of the prosecutrix was recorded as 7/7/99 (Ex.-P/5) and birth certificate (Ex.-P/4) was also seized vide Ex.-P/3. (PW-6) Chhedilal Jangde, Patwari, has prepared the map (Ex.-P/1). Statements of witnesses were recorded. The prosecutrix's underwear and slides prepared during examination was seized vide Ex.-P/11 and the same were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. On such examination, the stains of semen was not found on the underwear of the appellant as also on the slides. The appellant was also examined and he was also found capable to perform sexual intercourse. The appellant was arrested on 25/10/2014.