JUDGMENT

NATARAJAN, J.: —The appellants Arun Kumar and Narain Singh and one Bal Bahadur were acquitted by the Sessions Judge, Tehri Garwal of offences punishable under Ss. 366, 376,302 and 201, I.P.C. In the appeal preferred by the State against their acquittal, the High Court had split up the case against Bat Bahadur because notice of appeal could not be served on him. On reapprising the evidence, the High Court confirmed the acquittal of the appellants for the offences punishable under Ss. 375, 302 and 201, I.P.C., but however found them guilty for the offence under S. 366, I.P.C. and accordingly convicted them and sentenced them to undergo R.I. for 10 years. Hence the present appeal by the appellants.

2. Appellants Nos. 1 and 2 were employed as overseer and driver respectively and the third accused Bat Bahadur was employed as a dak-runner, in a para-military organisation under the command of the Director General of Border Roads. The appellants and their companion came to be charged for the various offences mentioned above in the following circumstances.

3. The first informant PW 14 Nain Singh was a 70 year old man who had lost all his five sons. He was living with his youngest widowed daughter-in-law Jamuna Devi, aged about 25 years. In the second week of August 1968 he went on a pilgrimage to Badrinath along with Jamuna Devi and stayed there for three days with PW 23 Bhag Singh, a brother of Jamuna Devi On the morning of 16-8-68 PW 14 and Jamuna Devi left Badrinath for going back to their village. They went walking along the road leading to Pipalkoti and reached Joshi Math at about 4.00 p. m. Proceeding onwards they reached Annimath and there PW 14 noticed the two appellants and their companion taking tea at the house of PW 1 Madhwanand. One of them was in uniform and the other two were in civilian dress. After passing Annimath PW 14 and Jamuna Devi reached the junction of the footpath with the motorable road. PW 14 sat down there to have a smoke and the appellants and their companion came near him and enquired him as to where from he was coming and where he was going. On PW 14 giving them the details of himself and the place of his destination, one of them suggested that he and Jamuna Devi could halt for the night at Helang in the tea shop of one Gopal Sing. After making the suggestion, the appellants and their companion left the place PW 14 and Jamuna Devi resumed their walk but soon PW 14 noticed the three persons to be keeping track of him and Jamuna Devi by alternately following them and going ahead of them. The movements of the three persons aroused the suspicion of PW 14 and he suspected that they were having some evil designs on Jamuna Devi. When PW 14 and Jamuna Devi reached the, outskirts of Helang it was about sun-set time. PW 14 noticed the three persons to be waiting near a bridge at the entrance of Helang. As the hour was not very late and as the place appeared to be crowded PW 14 thought of going to the next place called Balakuchi and finding a halting place there.

4. After PW 14 and Jamuna Devi had walked a distance of about one or one and half kilometers, they came to a lonely place where there were no houses nearby. It had also become dark by then. At that time PW 14 saw the three persons coming from behind and one of them to be having a torch light. Suddenly appellant No. I Arun Kumar caught hold of PW 14 waking behind Jamuna Devi and pushed him down to the ground and sat on his chest. Seeing this Jamuna Devi started running but the other two persons chased and caught hold of her and dragged her to a bushy place, below the road level. Appellant No. 1 who sat on PW 14s chest tried to gag his mouth with his right hand but accidentally he placed his right middle finger inside the mouth of PW 14 and the latter gave him a sharp bite. Appellant No. 1 cried out in pain and got up from the chest of PW 14 and went to the bushy place to join his companions who had taken Jamuna Devi there. PW 14 managed to get up and