RAMDAS TANTI Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal, preferred under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the accused-appellant has called in question the propriety of judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed for commission of offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (in short IPC') convicting and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 4 years in respect of the aforesaid offence.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that on 2Pt March 1987 the parents of the prosecutrix were not at home. She and her elder brother Ramshankar were at home. That night Ramshankar went to the house of Babulal compounder to hand over some tobacco. At that juncture she had gone to the cattle-shed to feed the cattle. The accused all of a sudden appeared on the scene and caught hold of her threw her on the ground gagged her mouth and committed sexual intercourse. Hearing her cry. Ramshankar reached there but he failed in his attempt to catch hold of the accused who fled away. Alongwith his uncle Gulabchand, Ramshankar went in search of the accused but it yielded no results. As the parents of the prosecutrix were away, FIR could not be lodged immediately. After their arrival an FIR was lodged on the next day at the Police Station. After the criminal law was set in motion investigation commenced and on completion of the necessary formalities the charge-sheet was submitted before the competent Court under Section 376 of the IPC.

(3.) The accused at the time of framing charge admitted to have committed sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix but stated to have done so with her consent. However, it is relevant to state here that in his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure the accused took the plea of alibi.