ORDER

1. Through this appeal by special leave, the appellant has called in question his conviction and sentence for the offence under Section 376 IPC as recorded by the trial court and upheld by the High Court of Assam.

2. According to the prosecution case, the prosecutrix, a young girl of 14 years of age (according to the medical evidence, the age was clinically found to be between 13-17 years) was subjected to rape by the appellant on 18-5-1987. The prosecutrix was witnessing a performance along with her girl friends at Dhanaising Chapori which finished at about 3.30 a.m. As she was leaving for her home, the appellant offered to walk with her to her house but on the way, subjected her to sexual intercourse without her consent and threatened her not to inform anybody about the occurrence. The prosecutrix, after having been subjected to rape, rushed to her house and informed her parents about the occurrence. The FIR was lodged at Teok Police Station. Ale investigation was taken in hand. The prosecutrix was sent up for medical examination and after completion of investigation, the appellant was tried for the offence under Section 376 IPC.

3. The prosecution, in support of its case, examined apart from the prosecutrix, her parents, besides the doctor and the investigation officer. The appellant, in his statement under Section 313 CrPC, denied the prosecution allegations.

4. The prosecutrix has, in her statement recorded at the trial as also her earlier statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC, clearly narrated the manner in which the appellant forcibly performed sexual intercourse with her without her consent on the roadside after taking the prosecutrix forcibly in his arms and removing her panties. Her statement has remained virtually unchallenged in the cross-examination. The statement of the prosecutrix has been amply corroborated by her mother and her father, PW 2 and PW 3 respectively, who are the two persons to whom the prosecutrix immediately narrated the story about the occurrence. Their evidence was not challenged in the cross-examination at all.

5. The argument of the learned counsel for the appellant that the medical evidence belies that testimony of the prosecutrix and her parents does not impress us. The mere fact that no injury was found on the private parts of the prosecutrix or her hymen was found to he intact does not belie the statement of the prosecutrix as she nowhere stated that she bled per vagina as a result of the penetration of the penis in her vagina. She was subjected to sexual intercourse in a standing posture and that itself indicates the absence of any injury on her private parts. To constitute the offence of rape, penetration, however slight, is sufficient. The prosecutrix deposed about the performance of sexual intercourse by the appellant and her statement has remained unchallenged in the cross-examination. Neither the non-rupture of the hymen nor the absence of injuries on her private parts, therefore, belies the testimony of the prosecutrix particularly when we find that in the cross-examination of the prosecutrix, nothing has been brought out to doubt her veracity or to suggest as to why she would falsely implicate the appellant and put her own reputation at stake. The opinion of the doctor that no rape appeared to have been committed was based only on the absence of rupture of the hymen and injuries on the private parts of the prosecutrix. This opinion cannot throw out an otherwise cogent and trustworthy evidence of the prosecutrix. Besides, the opinion of the doctor appears to be based on gano reasons".

6. The evidence of the prosecutrix in this case inspires confidence. Nothing has been suggested by the defence as to why she should not be believed or why she would falsely implicate the appellant. We are unable to agree with the learned counsel for the appellant that in the absence of corroboration of the statement of the prosecutrix by the medical opinion, the conviction of the appellant i