STATE OF HARYANA Vs. RAM PARTAP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will dispose of a matter arising out of F.I.R. No. 114 dated June 1, 1989 (hereinafter called as the 'F.I.R.') registered under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code at Police Station, Thanesar against accused Ram Partap and Ram Singh and complaint case No. 18/c/89 filed by Kulwant Kaur against the two accused, which were disposed of together vide the impugned judgment.

(2.) ABOUT 15-20 days prior to May 29, 1989 (as per the version given in the complaint) accused Ram Partap had advised PW-2 Kartar Singh, the husband of prosecutrix PW-1 Kulwant Kaur, to obtain a loan in respect of a shop. On that day, at about 2.00 P.M. accused Ram Partap visited Kartar Singh's house and found Kulwant Kaur present there and he asked her to accompany him for putting her thumb impressions on the loan papers, which were available with the Secretary. Kulwant Kaur, however refused to accompany Ram Partap as her husband was away from home and told him that her husband alone would make an application for loan. Ram Partap thereafter went away but returned a short while later and told Kulwant Kaur that the Secretary was present in his Chaubara and as he was scheduled to leave shortly, it would be better that she put her thumb impressions on the papers failing which the proposed loan would be cancelled. He further told her that it would not make any difference if the loan papers were thumb marked by her instead of her husband. On this fear and assurance, Kulwant Kaur accompanied Ram Partap to his Chaubara and found accused Ram Singh also sitting there and that both of them had been consuming liquor whereas the Secretary was not present. On seeing this, Kulwant Kaur made an attempt to return on which accused asked her to put her thumb impressions on the papers and while she was doing so, Ram Singh bolted the door from inside. Kulwant Kaur also made an attempt to shout but she was gagged and over-powered by the accused, and she was raped by both the accused and in the process she also received some injuries on her breast and hand. She thereafter left the Chaubara while weeping and abusing the accused and as she was returning, she came across PW-3 Shamsher Singh, a Member of the Panchayat and one Sant Ram, who inquired as to what had happened and she told them about the incident. After PW-2 Kartar Singh returned to his house in the evening, Kulwant Kaur narrated the incident to him but Kartar Singh was reluctant to report in order to keep the matter quite. However, on the next evening, certain residents of the village, including Shamsher Singh and Sant Ram, convened a panchayat, which was attended by many respectables of the village including Paras Ram, Teja Ram, Phool Singh and the two accused. The accused confessed their guilt. As by that time the entire village had come to know about the occurrence, a decision was also taken to lodge a report with the police the next day. On May 30, 1989, Kulwant Kaur and Kartar Singh went to Police Station, Pipli to lodge the F.I.R. but the police declined to register the same without verifying the facts. The matter was thereafter brought to the notice of the Superintendent of Police, Kurukshetra, who advised them to go to the police station the next day. Kulwant Kaur accordingly went to the police station and her thumb impressions were taken on some blank papers by the Station House Officer, who assured her that the accused would be arrested. She was also advised to come the next day for her medical examination and when she did so, no examination was carried out and the accused not arrested. Kulwant Kaur and Kartar Singh then moved applications before the Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra and the Home Minister, Haryana but without any result. Kulwant Kaur alongwith her husband also visited Civil Hospital, Kurukshetra independently for her medical examination but the medical officer declined to do so in the absence of any request from the police. Kulwant Kaur thereafter came to know that instead of registering a case of rape, the police had registered a case under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code against the two accused vide FIR No. 114 dated June 1, 1989. She thereupon filed a complaint in the Court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kurukshetra on June 15, 1989. On the filing of the complaint, the report of the police was called for and the accused were summoned to face trial under Section 354 read with Section 34 of the Code vide order dated March 8, 1990. Kulwant Kaur thereafter preferred a criminal revision before the Additional Sessions Judge, Kurukshetra that a case under Sections 376/34 of the Code had also been spelt out and that the accused ought to have been charged for that offence as well and on the revision being allowed, a charge under Section 376(g) of the Code was also framed.

(3.) THE accused were examined under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and they denied the allegations levelled against them. Ram Singh accused stated that Kulwant Kaur was a woman of low character and she had been paid by Teja Ram to make the allegations against them as he had been defeated by him to the election to the office of Sarpanch. Ram Partap accused stated that he had been implicated on account of his close friendship with Ram Singh and that he was not in the village on May 29, 1989. The accused also examined DW-1 Roshan Lal in their defence, who deposed that Ram Singh, Sarpanch had attended a meeting with the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra on May 27, 1995 and he also produced a certified copy of certificate, Ex. DC, to prove the fact; DW-2 Ravinder Singh, Clerk of the D.C.'s office, who brought the file pertaining to case No. 40 of village Haripur dated May 29, 1989 and produced the copy of application, Ex.DD. and the order of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Ex.DD/1 made thereon; DW-3 Faqir Chand, Clerk of Sh. Amar Singh, Advocate, who proved the application, Ex.DD, and stated that the same had been drafted at the instance of Ram Partap at 10.00 A.M. On that day, DW-4 Sub Inspector Deep Chand, who stated that Kulwant Kaur had never visited the police station prior to June 1, 1989 and during investigation it had been found that there was no merit in the allegations made by her; DW-6 Janak Raj, who deposed that Teja Ram had been defeated by Ram Singh in the election of Sarpanch and that Kulwant Kaur, a woman of loose character, had been used by Teja Ram, Shamsher Singh, Mohan Lal and others to involve Ram Singh in a false case and to get him suspended and that his house adjoined that of Ram Partap and he and his family had not noticed anything unusual happening in Ram Partap's house on that day.