STATE OF UTTARAKHAND Vs. SUBHASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a Government Appeal which has been filed by the State against the judgment and order dtd. 7/6/2012, whereby the Trial Court has acquitted the respondent/accused under Ss. 376, 452 and 506 of IPC.

(2.) In this case, an application was moved by the prosecutrix under Sec. 156(3) of CrPC before the learned Magistrate, Lansdowne Garhwal wherein she stated that the applicant and the accused/respondent Subhash, aged 40 years, are the residents of same Village Naugaon, Patti Silla, Tehsil Lansdowne, District Pauri Garhwal and are also related to each other, though there is an enmity between the applicant's family and that of the respondent. On 14/9/2006 at noon, when the applicant's father was admitted in a hospital in Kotdwar and her mother had gone to the jungle to collect fodder for the animals and the applicant was alone in her house, taking advantage of it, respondent Subhash entered her house and with his one hand, he caught hold of both the hands of the prosecutrix towards her back and from other hand he closed her mouth. Thereafter the applicant was dragged to the next room where she was dropped on the floor. The Salwar which she was wearing was pulled down and thereafter she was raped by the respondent. The prosecutrix later threatened by the respondent that in case she reports this matter to anyone she would be killed. For reasons of shame and public humiliation, she did not report the matter to anyone. But again on 29/9/2006 i.e. barely 15 days from the earlier incident, at about 12.30 in the afternoon, when she was again alone in her house and was working in the kitchen and her father was admitted in the hospital in Kotdwar, the respondent/accused again entered into her house and dragged her inside the room and raped her. She was completely traumatized and worried after the incident. The next day i.e. on 30/9/2006, she disclosed the incident to her mother. Her mother, in turn, disclosed the incident to her father. On 30/9/2006, a person from the Home Guard Department came to her house and informed them that they have been asked to be present before the Patwari of Lansdowne as the respondent had filed an application against them before the Patwari. On 17/10/2006, the prosecutix gave an application to SDM, Lansdowne in which orders were passed for further action to be taken by the Tehsildar, but nothing further happened. Therefore, she was constrained to move an application under Sec. 156 (3) of CrPC. On the said application, orders were passed by the learned Magistrate and an FIR was registered against the respondent on 12/1/2007 under Ss. 376, 354, 452 and 506 of IPC.

(3.) At this juncture, it must be stated that in the hill areas of Uttarakhand, police powers have been given to the revenue authorities and since the incident fell within the jurisdiction of Revenue Police, Pauri Garhwal, the investigation was done by the Patwari, who after completing the investigation had filed the charge-sheet against the respondent under Ss. 376, 452, 354 and 506 of IPC.