KUMUDI LAL Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant has been convicted for committing offences punishable under sections 376 and 302 IPC and section 3(ii) (v) of the Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. For the offence punishable under section 302 IPC death sentence has been imposed upon him. The appellant is challenging his conviction and sentence imposed under those Sections.

(2.) THE prosecution case was that on 7.9.95 at about 7.00 a.m. Kumari Marri, aged about 14 years had gone to ease herself in a field near her house and that while she was so doing, the appellant pounced upon her, pinned her down on the ground, committed rape and when she started resisting and raising shouts, strangulated and killed her by tieing her Salwar around her neck. It was also the prosecution case that hearing her shouts her father Mihilal (PW 1) and Avadh Ram (PW 2) who had also gone near that field for answering the call of nature, rushed to that place. It was also the prosecution case that they had seen the appellant committing rape and on seeing them the appellant got up and ran away. They had also chased the appellant but he was able to escape.

(3.) THE evidence of both the eye -witnesses that Mihilal (PW 1) was about 150 meters away from the place of the incident. The sight plan also shows that the place where Kumari Marri had gone was in northern comer of the field of Chhedu. The father was near the south western comer of that field. The sight plan shows the distance between the two places is 125 yards. Avadh Ram (PW 2) was at that time near the South East comer of the field of Chhedu at a distance of about 150 Sq. yards. Both Mihilal and Avadh Ram had reached the place of incident almost at the same time. They have stated that they had seen the appellant committing rape and that on seeing them he got up and started running away. Both of them had chased the appellant for some distance.