SUNDER Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the revisionist and the learned A.G.A. For the State.

(2.) The prosecution case is that on 31.7.1984 the revisionist Sunder committed rape upon a minor girl Maya aged about 11 years. The trial court after hearing of the case came to the conclusion that charge under Section 376 I.P.C. was proved against the accused, so he was convicted under Section 376 I.P.C. and was sentenced to four years R.I. and to a fine of Rs. 500/- by the learned II Assistant Sessions Judge, Saharanpur vide his judgment dated 5.9.1985. Aggrieved with that judgment and order the accused filed Criminal Appeal No. 226 of 1985 in the court of the Sessions Judge, Saharanpur which was heard and decided by Sri S.K. Bhatt, then learned IV Addl. Sessions Judge. He dismissed the appeal on merits and confirmed the conviction order as well as the sentence passed against the accused. Then (he accused filed this revision in this Court.

(3.) At the time of arguments learned counsel for the revisionist made only one submission before me. His contention was that in the statement of the accused under Section 313 Cr.P.C. his age has been described as 14 years. As such he was a child on the date of incident and so no order of sentence could be passed against him even if the charge under Section 376 I.P.C. was proved, and since now he has become major, the only course open to the Court is to release him without any order of sentence even after confirming the conviction order passed against him. He further contended that there is no evidence in the entire file of the case to show that the age of the accused as described in his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. was not correct and that he was major and so there is no reason to disbelieve the unrebutted statement of the accused on this point and so the order of sentence passed against him should be set aside. He cited before me a ruling of this Court in Chhotey and Anr. v. State reported in 1998 (36) ACC page 716. In this ruling Hon'ble B.K. Sharma, J. relying upon the statement of the accused under Section 313 Cr.P.C. in which he had described his age as 20 years ,had held that he was aged less than sixteen years on the date of the incident and so he was entitled to the benefit of the provisions of the U.P. Children Act. His Lordship had placed reliance upon a ruling of Hon'ble Supreme Court in 'Jayendra and Anr. v. State of U.P.' reported in AIR1982 SC 685 , 1982 CriLJ1000 , (1981 )4 SCC149 . In this case the accused had stated in his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. that he was about 15 years of age on the date of incident. However, his plea of being child was not accepted by the court below. The matter went to Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court called for a report from the doctor incharge of jail regarding his age. The doctor after his physical and radiological examination assessed the age of the accused-appellant as 23 years. The incident had taken place about six years and eight months ago and so according to the medical assessment his age came to be on the date of incident about sixteen years and four months. The Hon'ble Supreme Court was of the opinion that in view of the above medical assessment of age, there was no reason to disbelieve the statement of the accused that he was a child on the date of the incident.