ORDER

(Smt.) Ranjana Prakash Desai, J.:-Leave granted.

2. In these appeals by special leave the State of Haryana has challenged the judgment and order dated 2/8/2010 passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana maintaining the conviction of respondent Joginder Singh (original accused 1) under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, ‘the IPC’) and conviction of respondent Janak Singh (original accused 2) under Sections 376 read with Section 511 and Section 506 of the IPC and reducing their sentence for the said offences to the sentence already undergone by them.

3. According to the prosecution the prosecutrix lodged an FIR on 31/10/1998 at Police Post Jalmana stating that she was residing in the dera of Shekhupura along with her brother Gurpreet Singh and mother Joginder Kaur. On 27/10/1998 she, her mother Joginder Kaur and brother Gurpreet Singh were sleeping in the dera. At about 11.00 p.m. she got up for easing herself. After unbolting the room she went to the courtyard. She found that two men i.e. respondent Joginder Singh and respondent Janak Singh were standing near the boundary of the courtyard. One of them was having a khes and another was having a piece of