ANKUR Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant Ankur is in jail eversince his arrest on 2.8.2012, the next day of the incident. He has been held guilty for the offence of Section 376 (2)(G) of the IPC by the Trial Court and has been sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment nay fine of rupees ten thousand.

(2.) The prosecutrix has disclosed her age as 13 years in her statement on oath before the Court. No documentary evidence has been placed on the record to estimate her age either 13 years or around this figure. At the same time, the ossification test was conducted and the doctor has opined her age to be 17 years at the time of incident.

(3.) The above facts however are not so significant because the prosecutrix Km. Sikha has resiled in her deposition completely from her earlier statement rendered by her under Section 164 CrPC. In that statement, which was recorded on 3.8.2012, she has foisted the accused persons incriminating them with the charge of rape with her. But in her deposition in the Court on 22.1.2013, she has resiled from that statement and has negated any such occurrence with her five months ago. She even has expressed her inacquaintance with the accused. Her father PW2 Radhey Shyam and mother PW3 Smt. Nirmala have also been declared hostile by the prosecution and they have not supported the version. It is amazing that the learned Trial Court has yet found the accused guilty ignoring the statements of all these witnesses.