DEWAN CHAND Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused has been charged for the offence under Section 366 and 376 IPC.

(2.) This bail petition is being pressed mainly on two grounds; (i) that the prosecutrix was the consenting party; and (ii) that the Delhi courts have no jurisdiction for the rape was committed at Gurgaon.

(3.) According to the prosecution case, Charu Malhotra, the prosecutrix, aged 17 years knew Dewan Chand, the accused. Dewan Chand met her at about 10.00 AM at her school at R.K. Puram in his Maruti car along with her another neighbour Kishan @ Billa. Dewan Chand offered her to have a drive in his car. Since Meenakshi, her friend and class-mate was with her, she herself and Meenakshi accepted the offer to enjoy riding in the car driven by Dewan Chand. When they reached near Munirka, Kishan on the ground that he had 'some work, alighted from the car and left. Meenakshi, Dewan and the prosecutrix reached at Gurgaon in the car. Dewan took them to a locked house of which he was having the keys. He opened the door, took her inside the house on the pretext that he had arranged a party and his friends would be .coming very soon. Meenakshi was standing outside the said house. There Dewan started teasing Charu and forcibly committed rape against her wish despite a lot of hue and cry made by her. Later, he dropped her and Meenakshi near Subzi Mandi, Sarojini Nagar, Delhi. Charu came back to her house in a three wheeler scooter and told the entire incident to her mother. She was taken to the hospital by her mother in a PCR van. DD No. 29-A was received on 5th April 1998 itself. The case was registered and a challan prepared under Section 376,363 and 34 IPC. As has been stated earlier, the accused has been charged for offence under Section 376 as well as 366 IPC.