Judgment

Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.

1. This criminal appeal is filed by the accused against the final order/judgment dated 15.03.2010 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal No.2109-SB of 2009 which arises out of judgment/order dated 18.08.2009/20.08.2009 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Panipat in Misc. Sessions Case No. 31 of 2007.

2. By impugned judgment/order, the High Court upheld the conviction and sentence of the appellant awarded by the Sessions Court for the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC”) and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and a fine of Rs.5000/- and in default of payment of fine to undergo rigorous imprisonment for another six months.

3. In order to appreciate the issue involved in the appeal, few relevant facts need mention infra,

4. The prosecutrix (name withheld by us) was a young girl aged around 16 years 3 months at the relevant time. She had no educational background. She was the resident of Vidya Nand Colony, Panipat and was living with her parents and two younger sisters and three brothers. Her father, Abid was a labourer i