JARNAIL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JARNAIL Singh, appellant, aged about 46 years has been held guilty of raping Jasbir Kaur PW 2, a mother of three children, and aged about 32 years, on 4th February 1985 at about 2.00/3.00 p.m., in his wheat field. For this he has been sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000/-.

(2.) THE prosecution version that has been accepted against him by the trial court is that on the above-noted date and time, when the prosecutrix was going to the field of Chhinderpal Singh, employer of her husband as a tractor driver, to pick up vegetable leaves (saag), she was overpowered and dragged by the accused, to his wheat field and there after gagging her mouth he committed rape. At that time he was stated to be cutting green fodder (Berseem) in his field which concededly adjoined that of Chhinderpal Singh. In spite of her hue and cry, nobody turned up as none was there near about. After the incident she left the spot crying and while on way to her house, Gurdip Singh PW4, the younger brother of her husband met her. She narrated the entire occurrence to him. On reaching the house she repeated the same in the presence of her husband Karnail Singh PW5. Later all three of them went to Police Station, Bassi Pathana, and lodged the FIR (Ex. PC) at about 5 P.M. and, thus, set the law in motion.

(3.) THE plea of the accused under section 313 Cr.P.C. was that it was a false case concocted with a view to harm and humiliate him as he had civil litigation with Chhinder Pal Singh regarding some land. He claimed to have won that litigation. He also claimed that there was a fight between him and Chhinder Pat Singh about the said land. It was also his case that some time earlier to the alleged occurrence he had slapped the son of Chhinder Pal Singh as the latter had falsely accused his two daughters of plucking flowers from their fields. It was also suggested to the prosecutrix during cross examination that litigation was also going on between Sukhdev Singh brother of Chhinder Pal Singh, and Mehar Singh, brother of the appellant. In a nutshell the whole plea was that the case had been foisted on him at the instance of Chhinder Pal Singh who managed to secure the statement of Jasbir Kaur PW2.