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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
SANJAY KAROL, NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH, JJ.
State of Himachal Pradesh – Appellant
Versus
Hukum Chand Alias Monu – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 1275 of 2015
Decided On : 24-03-2026
(A) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 376 and 201 – Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 – Section 3(xii) – Rape of minor girl – Disappearance of evidence – Acquittal by High Court – Approach adopted by High Court is one of attempting to pick holes in a case that otherwise has withstood test of cross-examination – Prosecutrix has positively identified respondent-accused and has unequivocally stated that it was he who forced himself upon her – Not even a shred of doubt could be created by cross-examination on these two most essential points – Neither testimony of mother nor father, that supported version of prosecutrix could be credibly questioned – In proving occurrence of an offence within a particular time frame, Court does not look for mathematical precision – Medical evidence is in nature of expert opinion and is corroborative in nature – Medical evidence when it contravenes other credible evidence particularly ocular evidence, then in such a situation, it can be kept aside or ignored – That is not the case here – Evidence of others only adds further credence to statement of victim – Impugned judgment acquitting respondent- accused cannot stand and set aside. (Paras 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14)
(B) Criminal Law – Appreciation of evidence – Human perception, memory and narration are imperfect – As such, minor inconsistencies or trivial discrepancies in testimony of witnesses do not by themselves make evidence unreliable – Variations in trivial matters that do not affect core of case should not lead to rejection of credible testimony in its entirety – Evidence must be assessed as a whole to determine whether it carries ring of truth – Truthful witnesses may differ in detail due to normal lapses of memory or differences in perception – Essential question is whether inconsistencies materially compromise backbone of prosecution narrative – Truthful witness may make honest mistakes or omit immaterial details, and such normal variation should not result in wholesale rejection of evidence – However, when omissions or contradictions relate to material facts that form foundation of prosecution’s version, they assume significance and may create reasonable doubt. (Para 8)
Facts of the case:
A nine-year-old girl was sent by her mother to fetch buttermilk bright and early in the morning of 27th August 2007, however, brightness was soon extinguished. She was taken into a cowshed by neighbour’s son and sexually assaulted. Division Bench set aside findings of guilt and consequent sentence returned by District and Sessions Judge and instead, entered a finding of acquittal against respondent-accused, has preferred this appeal.
Findings of Court:
Impugned judgment acquitting the respondent- accused cannot stand and is required to be set aside. He is directed to surrender forthwith and serve the remainder of the sentence.
Result : Appeal allowed.
Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points with their corresponding references:
JUDGMENT :
SANJAY KAROL, J.
1. The State of Himachal Pradesh, aggrieved by final judgment and order dated 3rd June 2014 in Criminal Appeal No 721 of 20081[Impugned judgment] whereby the learned Division Bench set aside the findings of guilt and consequent sentence returned by the District and Sessions Judge, Mandi2[Trial Court] in Sessions Case No. 12 of 2008 in terms of the judgment dated 12th September 2008 and instead, entered a finding of acquittal against the respondent-accused, has preferred this appeal.
2. A nine-year-old girl was sent by her mother to fetch buttermilk bright and early in the morning of 27th August 2007, however, the brightness was soon extinguished. She was taken into a cowshed by the neighbour’s son and sexually assaulted. Upon returning home, she described the horrifying incident to her mother and later in the day to her father, who was a mason by profession and worked elsewhere. He made a couple of phone calls, including one to the little girl’s maternal uncle, who visited their home subsequently and they went and filed the First Information Report3[FIR No. 355 of 2007 registered at PS Sunder Nagar] with the police. The victim was medically examined, and her bloodstained clothes were handed over to the authorities. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet under Sections 376, 201 of the Indian Penal Code,18604[IPC] and Section 3(xii) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 19895[SC/ST Act].
3. The Trial Court, having appreciated the testimony of sixteen witnesses for the prosecution and three for the defense, convicted the accused under Section 376 IPC and the offence under the SC/ST Act, and acquitted him under Section 201 IPC. The sentence awarded was rigorous imprisonment for ten years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/- for the former offence, with a further rigorous imprisonment of one year in default of payment of fine. For the latter offence, imprisonment of the same description for five years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/- with a further rigorous imprisonment of one year in default of payment of fine. To arrive at this conclusion, reliance was placed on the testimony of the victim, and its corroboration by subsequent witnesses such as her parents, the medical witnesses and also the person from whom she was sent to fetch buttermilk, altogether forming a web of factors pointing to the guilt of the accused-respondent.
4. The impugned judgment reverses these findings. The sum and substance of the High Court’s reasoning is that major contradictions in the witness testimonies have been ignored by the Trial Court. It was found that the prosecution version suffered from serious improbabilities. The prosecutrix had apparently gone to fetch lassi from a house that was about 8 kilometers away. This meant she would have had to travel approximately 16 kilometers to go and return within two hours, which appeared to the Court to be highly improbable. Next considered was the aspect of the acrimonious relationship between the two families in so far as alleged theft of grass and fuelwood from the accused’s land. Importantly, a quarrel had taken place between the families on the very same day as the alleged incident. The prosecutrix herself admitted that her parents had cut grass from the accused’s land that day and that tensions already existed. Further, the Court found material contradictions and inconsistencies in the statements of the prosecutrix, her mother, her father, and her maternal uncle. There were differences regarding how and when the incident was reported, who went where before lodging the FIR, and whether the maternal uncle came to the house or met them on the road. These inconsistencies were considered significant.
Still further, the Court also questioned the conduct of the prosecutrix’s mother. She stated that she had become aware of the incident in the morning when she noticed bloodstains, yet no immediate report was made. Instead, the matter was d
(1) Rape of minor girl – In proving occurrence of an offence within a particular time frame, Court does not look for mathematical precision – Medical evidence is in nature of expert opinion and is co....
(1) Privacy of victims of sexual offences must be protected.(2) Rape – Degree of certainty is required before a person can be either convicted or acquitted of a crime – Absence of evidence of prosecu....
As per Section 9(m) of Act, whoever commits sexual assault on a child below twelve years will come under definition of aggravated sexual assault.
The testimony of a child victim in sexual assault cases is sufficient for conviction if credible, highlighting the high standard of reliability required under the POCSO Act.
Rape – Sole evidence of victim, when cogent and consistent, could be properly used to arrive at a finding of guilt – Corroboration from medical evidence is not sine qua non when cogent evidence of vi....
The reliability of the victim's testimony and the lack of requirement for corroboration in cases of sexual assault were central legal principles established in the judgment.
The testimony of a victim in sexual assault cases is credible and does not require corroboration for conviction, emphasizing the need for sensitivity in evaluating such evidence.
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