PRAKASH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant herein has been convicted and sentenced as below vide Judgment dtd. 28/10/2013 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Women Atrocities Cases, Bharatpur in Sessions Case No.17/2013 (1/13):

(2.) Being aggrieved of his conviction and sentences, the appellant has preferred the instant appeal under Sec. 374(2) Cr.P.C.

(3.) The prosecution case is based on an allegation that the appellant, who is distantly related to the alleged victim Mst. 'R' (PW-9), subjected her to sexual assault on 26/10/2012. As is usual in the cases of rape, the prosecution case is based primarily on the testimony of the victim Mst. 'R'. The prosecution portrayed in the FIR and in the sworn testimony of the girl that her age was about 15 years. The FIR of the alleged incident dtd. 26/10/2012 was registered on 2/11/2012. The material prosecution witnesses viz. Savitri (PW-3) and Parashuram (PW-8) admitted that the victim was a student of 10th Standard. However, the prosecution did not place on record the school record of the girl for proving her age. The trial court, after appreciating the evidence available on record, held that the age of the victim was about 17 years on the basis of the medical examination report. The Medical Jurist (PW-11) Dr. Usha Gupta stated in her deposition that no marks of violence were noticed on the person of the victim when she was medically examined. On examination of the genital area of the victim, it was noticed that the hymen was old torn and no marks of violence were visible thereupon.