JUDGMENT

V.S. Sirpurkar, J.

1. Challenge in these appeals is to the judgment dated 10.9.2004 passed by the High Court of Bombay in Criminal Appeal Nos. 658 and 644 of 2000 whereby the conviction and sentence awarded by the trial court were set-aside and appeals of the Appellants were allowed and they were acquitted of the charges levelled against them. Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 were convicted by the trial court for the offences punishable under Sections 148, 452 r/w 149, 366 r/w 149, 342 r/w 149, 323 r/w 149 and 506(2) r/w 149, IPC. Respondent No. 1/accused No. 1 Ravikant Shankarappa Patil was also convicted for the offences punishable under Section 386 r/w Section 511, 376 IPC and 25(1)(a) of the Arms Act.

2. Briefly stated, the prosecution case is that prosecutrix Fatima Sabin Nazir Ahmad Shaikh was studying in III year Computer engineering at Walchand Institute of Technology at Solapur and had brilliant education record. Her father was a professor. He left India for Libya in 1981 but returned to India in 1991 and started his hotel business. Her brother was also getting education at Pune. Accused No. 1 contested election from Solapur constituency and was elected Member of Parliament. Due to political activities, accused No. 1 came in close contact with the family members of the prosecutrix and also helped her family initially for the construction of their house.

3. It is further alleged that accused No. 1 developed fatal attraction for the prosecutrix. After hearing the proposal from accused No. 1 for marriage with the prosecutirx, her father got annoyed with accused No. 1 and asked him not to come to his house. It is alleged that with his muscle and money power, accused No. 1 started threatening the family members of the prosecutrix. On 5.5.2009, accused No. 1, under threat, took the prosecutrix and her whole family to Bombay for getting married with prosecutrix and for that purpose he also converted himself to Islam. Thereafter, Nikaah was performed on 6.5.1999 at Bombay in the presence of Kazi. In this nikaah, accused No. 1 was helped by other accused persons who were his henchmen. Even after the nikaah, accused No. 1 is alleged to have moved along with prosecutrix at various places including Khandala, Mysore and Hyderabad where according to the prosecutrix, under threat, she was raped by accused No. 1 from 9.5.1999 to 17.5.1999. In short, the case of the prosecution appears to be that it was only with the muscle and money power that the accused No. 1 forced the prosecutrix for nikaah and ravished her. The prosecutrix lodged an FIR against the accused persons on 5.6.1999.

4. In support of its case, the prosecution, in all, examined 12 witnesses including prosecutrix PW 2- Fatima Sabin Nazir Ahmad Shaikh, Kazi PW-3 Hajij Yusuf Shaikh and her mother PW8- Rashida Begum Nazir Ahmed Shaikh.

5. We have heard learned Counsel appearing for the parties and gone through the record.

6. We were taken through the evidence of PW1, PW3 and PW8 by Mr. U.B. Dube, learned Counsel appearing for the State of Maharashtra who painstakingly developed the whole argument to the effect that the family of the prosecutrix was a middle class family. With the help of muscle and money power, accused No. 1 used to threaten the prosecutrix and her family members. The whole family remained under the threat of the accused No. 1 and the nikaah was performed forcibly though the prosecutrix had not consented for it. Learned Counsel, therefore, argued that it is established law that when the prosecutrix herself alleges the rape and other ill treatments by accused No. 1, her evidence was sufficient enough to convict the accused persons and rightly believed to be true by the trial court and, therefore, the High Court should not have upset the conviction awarded by the trial court.

7. Mr. Dube submitted that in committing the crime, accused No. 1 was helped by all the other accused persons who were his henchmen. He also stated that accused No. 1 was an influential political