DEEPAK MOHAPATRA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the accused in G.R. Case No.589 of 2008 pending in the Court of learned S.D.J.M., Bolangir wherein charge sheet has been filed under Sections 376/451 of the I.P.C. He has sought for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (here -in -after called "the Cr.P.C.").

(2.) I have heard learned counsel of both sides on the question of bail and have perused the records. The prosecution case in short is that the victim girl (name withheld) is a deaf and dumb girl, who lives with her brother and sister -in -law (wife of her brother) and niece but her mother remains else where. On a visit her mother found the petitioner to be looking sick and on medical examination found her to be pregnant for three months. On her enquiry, she communicated through signs and gestures that three months back on a day at about 2 or 2.30 P.M. while she and her niece were sleeping in the kitchen, the petitioner came there and forcibly took her at the point of knife to the backside of a house, where he committed rape on her forcibly. He again brought and left her in the house and threatened her and her niece at the point of knife to finish them off, if the offence was disclosed. For fear she had not disclosed about the matter. The mother of the victim girl presented a written report at the police station on the basis of which police registered a P.S. Case and conducted investigation. During the course of investigation the victim was medically examined and so also the petitioner. Charge sheet has been placed against the petitioner as above.

(3.) AT the stage of bail detailed discussion of materials collected by the prosecution should be avoided. This is not the stage to say whether a particular witness or the prosecution case as a whole is worthy of belief or not. Any finding of this nature, without having assessed the credibility of the materials collected - which can only be done at the time of trial and that too by the Court conducting the trial - may tend to prejudice either the prosecution or the defence. The submission made on behalf of the petitioner that the prosecution case is not believable either due to some contradictions or due to some such infirmity is not acceptable.