HARI MAJHI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has been convicted and sentenced by additional sessions judge, 2nd court, Hooghly, to rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 6000/- in default rigorous imprisonment for two years more under S.376 of the Penal Code. He was also sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year for offence under S.417 of the Penal Code. Both sentences were directed to run consecutively. The case of the prosecution is briefly stated as under :

(2.) The complainant Aloka Majhi (P.W. 1) a young unlettered village girl, and the accused Hari Majhi alias Hari Malik, a young man, were living in the same village Banna under Police Station Dhaniakhali within District Hooghly. At the relevant time Aloka used to do the work of cultivation of her land in a field of her village; she was unmarried and aged about 21 years. The accused also used to work in the same filed at that time. In Jaistha 1387 B.S. (corresponding to May 1981) one day while Aloka was working in her land in that field the accused was also then working in an adjacent land there and at that time the accused picked up acquaintance with her. From that day onwards the accused gradually developed intimacy with Aloka in course of their working in the same field. Thereafter one day the accused taking advantage of that intimacy wanted to have sexual intercourse with her but Aloka expressed her disagreement to that. The accused at that time gave her assurance that he would marry her and in reply to that she told him to make that proposal before her parents. Then the accused went to her house and expressed his desire before her parents that he would marry her. After about 3/4 days from that incident the accused came near the house of Aloka and called her to come outside her house, took her to a field and performed sexual intercourse with Aloka forcibly against her will. Since after this incident of rape, the accused frequently used to have sexual intercourse with her after every 3/4 days. Aloka during that period repeatedly requested the accused to marry her as per his assurance but the accused passed time and yet persuaded her to believe that he would marry her. In this manner out one year elapsed. In the meantime Aloka became pregnant for three months in consequence of sexual intercourse with her by the accused as above. The parents of Aloka intimated that fact to some persons of their locality who then called the accused before them. The accused confessed before those persons that he had sexual intercourse with Aloka and as a result thereof she was impregnated by him. He assured before the persons of the locality that he would marry her. But the accused did not marry Aloka and passed time and finally he told her as well as her parents that he would not marry her and left for a village named Kanajuli to marry another woman.

(3.) It may be mentioned that the first sexual intercourse took place sometime in May 1981 and the First Information Report was lodged on 7th March, 1983.