STATE OF H. P. Vs. AJAY KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) STATE has appealed against the judgment dated 1st November, 1994, of learned Sessions Court, Kangra at Dharamshala, whereby respondent Ajay Kumar, who was tried for offence, under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, has been acquitted.

(2.) CASE of the prosecution may be stated thus on 8th July, 1993, prosecutrix, examined as PW 3, accompanied by her mother Saroj (PW 4), went to Police Station, Dehra, and lodged FIR Ext. PC, to the effect that on the previous day, i.e. on 7th July, 1993, when she (the prosecutrix) accompanied by her grandmother Ram Piari (PW 5) had gone to graze cattle and she was directed by her grandmother to get a buffalo, which had strayed too far, back near her, the respondent appeared from somewhere and tried to molest her. When the prosecutrix raised alarm, respondent ran away. Prosecutrix narrated the incident to her grandmother PW 5 Ram Piari. In the evening, when she returned home, she told her mother PW 4 Saroj that the respondent had tried to molest her on that day and that prior to that he had committed rape on her on 26th June, 1993, when she was all alone at home and even before that he had once raped her in the month of May. She did not narrate the earlier incidents of May and 26th June, 1993, to anybody, out of shame and also out of fear, because the respondent had threatened that in case she narrated the incidents to anybody her father would be done to death.

(3.) PROSECUTION examined the prosecutrix as PW 3, her mother Saroj as PW 4, her grandmother Ram Piari as PW 5, her Chacha Pritam Chand as PW 6, the doctor, who conducted medical examination, namely Sumanju Dhiman as PW 1, and the doctor, who conducted the epiphysis test namely R. K. Mahajan, as PW 8. Prosecution also examined Panchayat Secretary, PW 7 Pramod Singh, to prove certificate of date of birth Ext. PD. Respondent in his statement, under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, denied having committed the crime.