BHADAR Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal under Section 374 of Cr.P.C. appellant has challenged the judgment dated 3/6/2005 passed in Sessions Trial No. 218/2004 by the IV Additional Sessions Judge Dewas convicting the appellant for offence under Section 376 IPC and awarding sentence of 7 year's RI alongwith fine of Rs. 1000/- and default sentence of 6 months.

(2.) The prosecution story is that on 4/7/2004 complainant Faruq Patel had lodged a report to the police that he has two daughters of 13 and 9 years of age and on Thursday, he alongwith his wife had gone to agricultural field and on coming back in evening, he had come to know that appellant alongwith co-accused Santosh had taken his daughters in the bus by misguiding them. Thereafter offence under Section 363 IPC was registered and the prosecutrix alongwith her sister was recovered and medical examination of prosecutrix and appellant was done and after investigation chalan was filed and appellant was charged with the commission of offence under Sections 363, 366 and 376 of IPC whereas other co-accused Suganbai and Santosh were charged for commission of offence under Sections 363 and 366 IPC and co-accused Kailash Narain and Vishnu were charged for under Section 368 IPC. Trial court after examining the evidence had acquitted all other accused persons and has convicted the appellant for offence under section 376 of IPC and sentenced him as above.

(3.) Learned counsel for appellant submits that prosecutrix was a consenting party and onus of proving absence of consent was on the prosecution which has wrongly been placed on appellant by trial court.