STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. SHANKAR KOL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD on admission.

(2.) BY the present application, the State has sought for grant of leave to appeal against the judgment dated 13.10.2011 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sidhi in ST No. 166/2010 whereby the respondent was acquitted from the charge of offence punishable under Sections 376(1) of IPC.

(3.) AFTER considering the prosecution evidence and submissions made by the learned counsel for the appellant -State, it appears that the prosecutrix kept silence till her pregnancy of 24 to 26 weeks was developed, and therefore her FIR was six months delayed. She did not say that immediately after the incident she intimated about the incident to her mother or aunt. But when her abdomen was found enlarged and she was asked, then she told about the incident to her mother. Under such circumstances, the consent of the prosecutrix is apparent. But consent has no meaning if the prosecutrix was below 16 years of age at the time of incident. Hence assessment of age was an important ingredient in the present case.