BHALCHAND TIWARI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 04.06.2010 passed by Sessions Judge (Atrocities) Bastar at Jagdalpur, in Sessions Trial No. 131/2008 convicting the accused/appellant under Sections 376 (1) IPC and 3 (1) (xii) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (for short the "Special Act") and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years with fine of Rs. 1000/ - u/s 376 (1) IPC and rigorous imprisonment for five years with fine of Rs. 1000/ - u/s 3 (1) (xii) of the Special Act, plus default stipulations.

(2.) Case of the prosecution in brief is that on 15.7.2008 FIR (Ex. P -13) was lodged by the prosecutrix (PW -8) alleging that on 11.7.2008 (Friday) she had gone to the house of her father to attend a wedding ceremony and some days thereafter i.e. on Sunday her husband Jagat Ram Mandavi and the accused/appellant also came there to take her back. When she along with her husband was going on the motorcycle of the accused/appellant, he stopped the motorcycle near his house at village Bhumka and after taking her husband inside told him that if they (prosecutrix and her husband) wanted to give up liquor, observance of some rituals (Pooja path) was to be done that very day. Accused/appellant also asked her husband to get his father for the said ritual and after his arrival he made both of them sit in a room and got the said ritual done at about 7 in the evening and thereafter he gave them a piece of red cloth, vermilion and coal pieces to be dropped at a triangular path and move ahead without looking back. After her husband and father -in -law got away, the accused/appellant asked her to stay in his house for four days to light the lamp and clean the place of ritual and saying that he took her to the Pooja room, gave her coal pieces and vermilion to be thrown into the jungle. When she refused to accompany him to jungle, maid servants of the accused/appellant forced her to do so. Thereafter, at 8 PM she went to the jungle along with the accused/appellant where under a tree he made her lie and after removing her clothes committed forcible sexual intercourse with her on the point of knife and threatened her saying that if she disclosed the same to anyone, entire observance of ritual would be futile and for that she kept quiet. Second day also he took her to the jungle and did the same act. On 14.7.2008 her husband came and took her back and on the way she narrated the entire incident to him and after reaching home to her mother -in -law also and then the report was lodged. Based on the said report, offences under Section 376/34 IPC and 3 (1) (xii) of the Special Act were registered against the accused/appellant. She was medically examined on 16.7.2008 by Dr. B.P. Ekka (PW -1) who gave her report Ex. P -1 stating that she did not notice any external or internal injury on her body and no definite opinion regarding forcible sexual intercourse could be given. After completion of investigation, charge sheet was filed against the present appellant and others for the offence punishable under Sections 376/34 IPC and 3 (1) (xii) of the Special Act. Court below however discharged the other accused persons and framed the charges against the accused/appellant as mentioned above.

(3.) So as to hold the accused/appellant guilty, prosecution has examined 08 witnesses in support of its case. Statement of the accused/appellant was also recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in which he denied the charges levelled against him and pleaded his innocence and false implication in the case.