(1.) THESE appeals arise out of a common judgement of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Patan, dated 6.3.2009 in Special Atrocity Case No.22/2008. There were in all six accused. They were charged with difference offences, principally for gang rape. By the impugned judgement, all these accused have been convicted for various offences to which we shall refer to later. They have preferred individual appeals challenging their conviction and sentence. All the accused were however, acquitted for offences under sections 376(2)(b) and (c) of the IPC and section 3(1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 ( the Atrocities Act for short). The State has therefore, filed Criminal Appeal No.895/2009 challenging the acquittal of the accused for the said offences.
(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the prosecution version was that Ms. A , the prosecutrix was aged about 18 years. She belonged to the Scheduled caste. She was admitted in the two year Primary Training Certificate (PTC) course in Government PTC college at Patan on 24.7.2007. It was an all girls college. This course was offered at an institution called District Institute for Education and Training at Palanpur, popularly referred to as DIET, Patan. All the accused were teachers in the said PTC college.
(3.) ALL the accused except accused no.6 were charged with offences under section 120B as also section 376(2)(g) of the IPC. Case of the prosecution is that accused no.4 because of his physical disability was unable to commit the act of sexual intercourse with the victim despite his best efforts. He instead, satisfied his lust by oral sex and also committed several other indecent acts on the girl. He was accused of unnatural offence punishable under section 377 of the IPC. Rest of the accused were charged with the said offence with the aid of section 120B of the IPC. Accused no.6 was charged with offence of rape punishable under section 376 of the IPC.