LOKANATH SUBUDHI Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IMPUGNED in this appeal is the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 1st May, 2007 of the Additional Sessions Judge, Bhuabaneswar whereby Appellants were convicted for offences under Section I.P.C. and I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and fine of Rs. 5,000/ -rigorous imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs. 2500/ -each respectively. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently and benefit under Section Code of Criminal Procedure was also given to the Appellants.

(2.) IN short, the prosecution story is that during the intervening night of 30/31.5.1997, the prosecutrix came out of the house at about 1 A.M. for urination. The accused persons gagged her mouth and forcibly lifted her . They took her to village Benapanjari where she was kept in a house and Indian Law Reports, Cuttack Series [2011] was allegedly raped by the Appellants . From there, she was taken to a lodge at Balugaon where she was kept for one and a half month and was gang raped by both the Appellants 4 -5 times. Informant Gobardhan Barik woke up at night and on seeing the almirah and the backdoor of the house open, he searched the almirah and found Rs. 10,000/ -in cash and other jewellery missing from the almirah. He accordingly lodged a report in the concerned police station.

(3.) AFTER about one and half months of the incident, prosecutrix's paternal grandfather lodged a complaint at Jatni Police Station resulting in to registration of F.I.R. No. 115 (2)/1987 under Section I.P.C. The prosecutrix recovered on 2.8.1997 and was got medically examined. After completion of the investigation, charge -sheet was filed in the Court.