STATE OF HARYANA Vs. MIAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE long and short of the prosecution case set up against the accused is that around noon time on 3rd November, 1980 while prosecutrix was cutting Barseen on chaff cutting machine placed in the agricultural fields of her father in village Barna District Kurukshetra of Haryana State, accused Mian Singh alias Chhanga approached her and offered her his personal help in grass cutting operations. When the prosecutrix Smt Sona spurned his offer. The accused caught hold of her arms felled her on the heap of parali nearby, gagged her mouth by putting a piece of khes therein, opened the string of her salwar forcibly without her consent and committed rape on her. On hearing the noise raised by the prosecutrix PW6 Abbey came there to and on seeing him the accused made good his escape from the place of occurrence.

(2.) ON being charged with the commission of the offence under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code accused Mian Singh alias Chhanga pleaded not guilty. thereto and claimed to be tried. Vide its impugned judgment dated January 7, 1982 learned trial court acquitted the accused holding that the prosecutrix was more than 19 years of age on the date of the occurrence and was also a consenting party to the sexual act. Feeling aggrieved from the judgment of acquittal the State of Haryana has filed Criminal Appeal No. 342-DBA of 1982 in this Court.

(3.) REASONS for recording acquittal are obtaining in paragraphs 10 and 11 of the impugned judgment of the learned trial Court. Relevant paragraphs aforesaid read. :