ARJUN KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has been convicted of an offence under Section 376 IPC by an Additional Sessions Judge vide judgment dated 26th July 1984 and has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for twelve years and a fine of Rs. 5,000/-; in default of payment of fine he has been awarded further rigorous imprisonment for one year. Feeling aggrieved he has come up in appeal against his conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case as unfolded by prosecutrix Miss Sunita Rani (PW 1) succinctly is that at the relevant time (during the years 1981, 1982 & 1983) she was living with her parents at C-1/277, Sultanpuri, aT resettlement colony. She was then a student of sixth class in Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sultanpuri. However, being weak in studies she started visiting the house Of the appellant which was opposite her house for coaching/tuition by him. The, appellant was living there with his wife and children. . He was then employed as Marketing Officer which was a gazetted post. On 22nd December 1981 when the wife of the appellant had gone out, the appellant applied Sandur on her Mang telling her that henceforth she would be his wife. He then ravished her forcibly in his house but she did not protest because he had threatened to kill her brother Ravinder Kumar in case she offered resistance. Thereafter, he used to assault her sexually off and on against her consent and she became pregnant from him. In July 1982 when she had a pregnancy of about two months he took her to a lady doctor at Nangloi and got an abortion effected. Thereafter, she again became pregnant from him and he took her to another lady doctor at Nangloi on 5th January 1983 for abortion. She was having six weeks gestation pregnancy at that time. On 31st March 1983 the appellant told her to persuade her parents to marry her with him formally. Accordingly she told her parents about it and they had a quarrel with the appellant ever it. Subsequently, on 3rd May 1983 the prosecutrix went to Police Station, Sultanpuri accompanied by her parents etc. and lodged report Ex. P.W. 1/A complaining of her having been raped by the appellant for over a year under the circumstances mentioned above.

(3.) The prosecution rests on the evidence of eleven witnesses. Of these Sunita Rani (P.W. 1) is the prosecutrix who has narrated the foregoing facts. Sardari Lal (PW 2) is her father. Smt. Prem Rani (P.W. 7) is her mother. Mrs. John Godinho (P.W. 6) is Superintendent in Marie Stopes Society which runs a medical clinic at Nangloi and renders service in family planning, one of their activity/service undertaken being medical termination of pregnancy. Dr. Asha Rawal (P.W. 8) and Miss Poonam Kapoor (PW 9) also belong to the same Society. The former had terminated the pregnancy of the prosecutrix on 5th January 1983 while the latter had filled in the intake sheet Ex. P.W. 1/B which was allegedly signed by both the prosecutrix and the appellant. S.I. Chamal Lal (P.W. 11) is the Investigating Officer who conducted the whole of the investigation in the instant case. The testimony of rest of the witnesses is of formal nature and will be referred to if and when the need arises.