PIARA SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Around 4.00, p.m. on June 7, 1985, the four accused are alleged to have kidnapped/abducted prosecutrix Amarjit Kaur with intention that she may be forced to have illicit intercourse with them and, thereafter, gang raped her; one after the other, in the residential Kotha of Piara Singh accused located inside the gravy yard of Fatehabad District Hisar of Haryana State. On being charged with the commission of the offences under section 366 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, all the four accused pleaded not guilty thereat and claimed to be tried. Vide its impugned judgment date March 7, 1986, learned trial Court convicted all the four accused of the offences with which they stood charged. For his conviction under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code every one of the four accused was individually awarded rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years and fined Rs. 500.00. In default of payment of fine everyone of the four accused had individually to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of three months each. In respect of the conviction under section 366 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code everyone of the four Convicted accused was sentenced to undergo individually rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay Rs. 500.00 each as fine. In default of payment of fine each one of them was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of three months. Substantive sentences of imprisonment awarded to the accused on both the Counts were ordered to run concurrently. Feeling aggrieved from the impugned judgment of the learned trial court, all the four convicted accused have jointly filed Criminal Appeal No. 212-SB of 1986 against it in this Court.

(2.) I have heard Shri R.S. Rai, Advocate, for the appellants, Shri D.S. Bishnoi, DAG Haryana for the State and have perused the entire relevant material on record very carefully.

(3.) The prosecutrix is adjudged by the learned trial Court to be 21 years of age. In her complaint filed in the court of Shri K.R. Goellearned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Sirsa on June 14, 1985, the prosecutrix claimed to have married Gurdeep Singh accused against the wishes of her parents and alleged that she had been severely beaten by her father, brother and paternal uncle on this Score two days earlier on June 12, 1985. Photograph Ex. DE was produced before the court at Sirsa as evidence of the alleged marriage. Copy of the complaint has been produced on record as Ex. DB and of the statement made by the prosecutrix in Court in support of it as Ex. DC. D.W. 1 Ashok Kumar, Reader, posted in the Court on June 14, 1985 has proved the due recording of her statement in Court on dictation from the Presiding Officer. Shri P.C. Chaudhary, Advocate Sirsa proves the filing of the complaint by the prosecutrix.