RAM CHARAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant -Ram Charan stood his trial before the Court of 9th Addl. Sessions Judge, Etah on the charge of committing rape upon the prosecutrix -Usha (PW 4) and has been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for the aforesaid offence for a period of six years.

(2.) THE facts, as they appear in the evidence, are that Smt. Usha, who was a married girl at the time of incident and was aged about 10 or 12 years, had accompanied the wife of the accused -appellant Smt. Har Devi, to her field in the afternoon of 2 -4 -1978. Smt. Har Devi had gone there to give some food material and water to the accused. The appellant -Ram Charan was harvesting his wheat crop in the field. Smt. Har Devi left Smt. Usha there stating that she would come back very soon. Finding Smt. Usha all alone in the field, Ram Charan caught hold of her and committed rape against the prosecutrix. She raised voice and cried for help which attracted PW 2 -Mitthoo Lal and other witnesses namely Durgpal, Sukhbasi, Diwari and Ram Ratan who were working in the nearby field and they immediately rushed to the scene. The appellant -accused Ram Ratan when noticed the witnesses approaching him, he tried to run away but was immediately apprehended a few paces away from the place of occurrence. The arrest of the accused was affected at about 3.30 p.m. The complainant -Jai Ram (PW 1) got the report scribed by Ram Swaroop and he alongwith the witnesses accompanied by the accused -Ram Charan under arrest and the prosecutrix -Smt. Usha went to the Police Station Jaithara where the report was lodged at 6.45 p.m.

(3.) ON the next day of incident i.e. 3 -4 -1978, the prosecutrix Smt. Usha was taken to Woman's Hospital, Etah and was medically examined by PW 5 - Dr. V. Lalvani and a medical report in Ext. Ka -6 was prepared by her. Dr. V. Lalvani found Usha by her appearance to be of about 10 years of age. She had no external injury on the body and her vagina was able to admit only one finger with pain. Hymen of the Usha -prosecutrix was found completely torn and her vagina/hymen was bleeding when touched. Dr. Lalvani thus, opined that Usha was raped within 24 hours. The lady doctor however, after medical examination of Usha did not refer her for further radiological examination etc. in order to get her opinion about the age further confirmed. It was later on in the year 1981 (3 -3 -1981) Usha was taken to P.W. 8 -Dr. Daya Shanker, Radiologist, District Hospital, Etah and her X -ray examination was done and on the basis of that P.W. 8 opined that she was about 16 years of age at that point of time when the X -ray was done by him. He proved the X -ray report in Ext. Ka -12 in the Court.