KISHORI MOHAN, SON OF MANGAL YADAV, RESIDENT OF VILLAGE CHARKAWAN, POLICE STATION RAFIGANJ, DISTRICT AURANGABAD Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three appeals arise out of the common judgment passed by the 5th Additional Sessions Judge, Aurangabad in Sessions Trial No. 18 of 98 and 5/2000 by which he has convicted all the appellants under Sec. 366A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and directed them to pay Rs. 5,000.00 each as fine. Appellant Sanjay Kumar Shyam has further been convicted under Sec. 376 of the Indian Penal Code and has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000.00. The said fine is to be paid to the victim girl. Kishori Mohan is the Principal of Shahid Bhagat Singh Mahila College, Rafiganj (hereinafter referred to as 'the College'). He has remained in custody for 3 months and 29 days. Mritunjay has remained in custody for four 4 months and 28 days whereas, appellant Sanjay Kumar Shyam has remained in custody for about 3 years and 10 months.

(2.) The case was instituted on 5.7.1997 for an occurrence which took place on 2.7.1997 by Anwar Hussain, father of the victim girl, Rashida Sharin @ Rubi alleging therein that the victim has left her house to go to the College. When she did not return in the evening the family members began to look for her. They later came to know that Sanjay, who was a Lecturer in the said College, had kidnapped Rubi. They went to the house of Sanjay but could not recover the victim girl. Apparently, Sanjay was also missing from his house. It is alleged that Sanjay has kidnapped the victim girl who is supposedly a minor with the intention to marry her.

(3.) The defence on behalf of the appellants is complete denial of the occurrence on behalf of Kishori Mohan, the Principal and Mritunjay Kumar, the brother of Sanjay. It has been said that they had no inkling regarding the said occurrence and they had no role to play in the said kidnapping. On behalf of Sanjay Kumar Shyam it is said that the girl is a major. They were well known to each other and both of them left their house because they wanted to get married and their parents had not agreed for the marriage as both of them belonged to different religion. He further claims that after they left their house, they went to Dhanbad, where they got married in a Mandir after which they went to Puri to spend their honeymoon and then returned to Dhanbad from where they were recovered.