The Prosecution In The Facts Of Present Case
The court had reviewed the evidence on record. The prosecution's case relies
on the sole testimony of P.W. 1, the victim. She stated that the appellant,
along with another individual, entered her house under the pretext of asking for
water and forcibly committed rape while nobody else was present. She provided
details of the occurrence and mentioned that she subsequently became
unconscious. According to her account, when her sister-in-law (Bhabi) returned a
few hours later, she regained consciousness and narrated the entire incident to
her sister-in-law and brother.
She also acknowledged that on the same night, they went to the police station
where her statement was recorded by the police as Exhibit 1. However, during
cross-examination, she admitted that her brother, P.W. 2, was accused in a case
under Section 395 of the Indian Penal Code, in which the father of the appellant
had given evidence against her brother. She conceded in paragraph 20 that her
parents, as well as two other brothers, were alive.
She claimed to have sustained injuries during the rape; however, this was
contested by P.W. 3, a doctor who found her hymen with an old rupture and noted
other injuries on her body. P.W. 2, the brother of the prosecutrix, was a
hearsay witness to the occurrence. He claimed that the father of the appellant
had registered a theft case against him. He corroborated the prosecutrix's
account regarding her injuries. He identified four individuals who accompanied
the victim to the police station. Nevertheless, no other witness named in the
charge sheet has been examined before the Trial Court.
Given the facts above, the animosity between the two families was acknowledged.
In the absence of any corroborative evidence to support the prosecution's claim
that P.W. 1 was subjected to rape by two individuals, the court found that the
prosecution, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, has not been
able to prove the charges against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt.
Therefore, the current appeal has merit and deserves to be allowed.
Law Article in India
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