DEVENDRA DAS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 30th March, 1996 passed by Ist Additional Sessions Judge, Saran at Chapra, in Sessions Trial No. 13/93 convicting and sentencing all the appellants to undergo R.I. for 10 years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- in default to undergo R.I. for 6 months under S. 376(2)(g) IPC and R.I. for 1 year each under S. 342, IPC. Appellant Devendra Das has further been convicted and sentenced to undergo R.I. for 6 months under S. 366-A, IPC. The respective sentences passed against the appellants have however been ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of the prosecution, in short, is that about one week prior to 20-7-92 on a Saturday the informant Mamta (PW. 6), a minor girl aged about 13 years had gone to Tapan Bazar for seeing a 'Mela' (fair). At about 4-30 p.m. appellant Devendra Das met her and asked her to see the fair further with him. She declined. In the meantime, a bus came there and appellant Devendra Das with the help of his companion Ismail Mian forcibly boarded the informant on the bus. When the informant raised alaram the attention of passengers of the bus was drawn and the appellant Devendra Das and his companion told them that the informant was their niece. The informant could not know from which places the bus passed because she is illiterate. The appellant Devendra Das and his companion thereafter boarded the informant on a train. In the meantime they were molesting her. The appellant Devendra Das gave allurement to the informant that she would be married with a good boy. Thereafter on 19-7-92 at about 2 a.m. the appellant Devendra Das and his companion Ismail Mian got down at a small station and brought the informant through a kachcha road to a tiled house situated at a distance of about 2 miles. The informant later on knew that the house belonged to appellant Lalji Mahto. At that house three more persons came and the informant knew their names from their conversations that they were appellants Munna Sah and Subedar Mahto and Bachan Singh. One of them offered a sum of Rs. 500/- to the informant for going with him which was not accepted by her. When there was darkness all the six persons took the informant to a lonely place where they gave her threatening and thereafter four persons committed rape on her. When one was committing rape on her, others were holding her hands in their grip. Thereafter those six persons brought the informant back to that tiled house but by that time police arrived there and arrested all the six persons. On being asked by the police, four persons who had joined appellant Devendra Das and his companion Ismail Mian disclosed their names as Lalji Mahto, Munna Sah, Subedar Mahto (all appellants) and Bachan Singh. The police recorded the fardbeyan of informant (Ext. 6) on the basis of which a formal FIR (Ext. 7) was drawn up. The informant on the next day was sent for medical examination and police after investigation submitted chargesheet against the appellants as well as against Ismail Mian and Bachan Singh under Ss. 366-A/376/342/34, IPC. After commitment of the case to the Court of Sessions charges under Sections 376 and 342 were framed against the appellants and Ismail Mian and Bachan Singh. The appellant Devendra Das and Ismail Mian were further charged under S. 366, IPC. During the trial Ismail Mian and Bachan Singh jumped the bail and therefore their case was split up. After trial the Court found all the appellants guilty under Ss. 376(2)(g) and 342, IPC and further found appellant Devendra Das guilty under S. 366-A, IPC and accordingly convicted and sentenced them as indicated above.

(3.) The case of the appellants before the Court below was complete denial of charges against them and their false implication in this case, one witness has been examined on behalf of defence.