SOM PAL Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants in all the three appeals have been convicted of offence of gang rape, under Section 376 (2)(g) of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- each; in default of payment of fine to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of two years, any the learned Sessions Judge, Sirmaur District at Nahan, vide judgment dated 16th May, 2006. Therefore, all the three appeals are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) Prosecution's case may be stated thus. On 30.4.2004, prosecutrix examined as PW1, went to Police Station, Paonta Sahib at 8.15 p.m. and lodged report that on that very day around 11 in the morning, she had gone to a nursery in village Matraliyon to collect fuel wood, where all the three appellants were already present and consuming liquor and that when after collecting the fuel wood, she went to take a few vines to make a rope for bundling the fuel wood, one of the appellants, namely Satnam Singh; caught hold of her, threw her on the ground and committed rape on her, after removing her Salwar . Thereafter another appellant, namely Som Pal, came there and he too committed rape on her. The third appellant, Rajinder Singh, had been encouraging the other two appellants to enjoy to the full. though he himself did not commit sexual intercourse. Names of the appellants, except that of Rajinder Singh, were not disclosed at the time of lodging of the FIR, but it was stated that the other two appellants were drivers by occupation and she knew them well.

(3.) Police took the prosecutrix to the house of appellant Rajinder Singh. He was not there. Then the prosecutrix was taken to Civil Hospital, Paonta Sahib and got medically examined from PW-3 Sunita Mangla, who prepared slides of vaginal swab for being sent to the Chemical Examiner. She also took into possession the clothes, i.e. shirt Ext. P-l and Salwar Ext. P-2, which the prosecutrix was wearing. The same were made into a parcel, which was sealed by the doctor with her own seal. Blood sample of the prosecutrix was also taken. The vaginal swab and the clothes of the prosecutrix were sent to the Chemical Examiner, who vide report Ext. PW6/B reported that Salwar of the prosecutrix and the vaginal slides had human semen on them. Underwears of appellants Satnam and Som Pal were also sent to the Chemical Examiner and stains of human semen were found on those underwears also. Blood sample of the prosecutrix was also examined in the laboratory and per report Ext. PW6/C, the sample contained 94% alcohol.