STATE OF H.P. Vs. RAKESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RESPONDENTS were charged with and tried for offences punishable under Sections 366, 376, 354, 506 read with Section 34 IPC, for allegedly abducting, raping and assaulting the prosecutrix with intent to outrage her modesty and then intimidating her, on 20th February, 1991, late in the evening.

(2.) AS per prosecution version, prosecutrix alongwith her two sisters, younger to her, used to reside in a house in Rajgarh, headquarter of one of the Sub Divisions of Sirmour District. On 20th February, 1991, when she was present in her house alongwith the man she had been betrothed to, namely PW-4 Satya Prakash, respondent Vijay Thakur allegedly knocked at the door, which was not bolted from inside. Hearing the knock, PW-4 Satya Prakash said that the door was open and the person knocking could come in. Upon that respondent Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Vijay Thakur went inside the room and asked the prosecutrix to come out. On her refusal, respondent Vijay Thakur allegedly pulled her out forcibly. When PW-4 Satya Prakash tried to intervene, he was slapped and pushed inside. Prosecutrix was also slapped when she resisted being pulled out. Outside the room, remaining respondents were present. They all forcibly dragged the prosecutrix to a red-coloured Maruti Van, which was parked by the side of the road near the house of the prosecutrix. The prosecutrix was taken by all the respondents in that Maruti Van to a place called Kotli, which is at a distance of 2-3 kms. from the house of the prosecutrix. There the Maruti Van was stopped and all the respondents, except respondent Rakesh Kumar, alighted from the Van. Respondent Rakesh Kumar then drove the Maruti Van, with the prosecutrix inside. He stopped the van after driving for half a kilometer and forcibly carried the prosecutrix to a Ghasni. Prosecutrix put up resistance and struggled for about 10-15 minutes. When she got exhausted, respondent Rakesh Kumar committed sexual intercourse with her against her will and without her consent. Respondent Rakesh Kumar then told to the prosecutrix that the other male respondents would also have intercourse with her. The prosecutrix pretended that she wanted to urinate. On that pretext she ran away from the spot. After reaching a safe distance, she started running. She was chased by respondent Rakesh Kumar, but the latter could not overpower her. Prosecutrix reached the house of PW-3 Dropti Devi in village Neri, which is at a distance of 2-3 kms. from the spot. She took shelter at the house of said PW-3 Dropti Devi for the night and next day she left by bus in the morning and reached Nauni University where her fiancée was studying those days. Her fiancée remained in her room at Rajgarh because the door of the room had been bolted from outside by respondent Vijay Thakur, when he forcibly pulled the prosecutrix out of her room. Next morning, her fiancée noticed a boy outside the room and requested him to unbolt the room from outside. After the room was unbolted, prosecutrix's fiancée PW-4 Satya Prakash went to Police Station Rajgarh at 8.15 a.m. and lodged the report. Thereafter, a police party acccompanied by PW-4 Satya Prakash went in search of the prosecutrix towards Nauni. Prosecutrix was found sitting in a tea-stall at Nauni. She made a statement to the Police, which was recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(3.) PROSECUTRIX told the police during the investigation that when she was running away from the spot her Dupatta got entrapped in the bushes. Police went to the spot and found her Dupatta, which according to the photographs, was stuck to the trunks of two trees of pine and not trapped in bushes.