The presumption of innocence of the accused and the need for compelling circumstances to interfere with an acquittal.

1. Heard Mr. Amonkar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the appellant and Mr. Dessai, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent.

2. This is a State appeal against acquittal.

3. The respondent (accused) was tried by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court-I, South Goa, Margao (Trial Court), in Sessions Case no. 11 of 2010, for offences punishable under Sections 354, 509, 504, 323, 376 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.). The said Sessions Case No. 11 of 2010 was a culmination of charge sheet filed by Colva Police against accused. The charge was framed for the offences punishable under Sections 376 and 201 I.P.C. only, and the substance of the charge was that at or about 02.30 hours on 02/12/2009, near Maria Hall, Benaulim and in the car (Captiva Black Colour) bearing No. GA-09/D-0001, the accused committed rape on the prosecutrix, a Russian National and thereafter caused the evidence connected with the offence namely the underwear of the victim to disappear with an intention to escape from legal punishment. The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. The prosecution examined 25 witnesses in support of its case. The case of the accused was of denial and that a false case was filed against him for reasons stated in detail by him in his statement under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. The accused did not examine any witness in defence.

4. Upon consideration of the entire evidence on record, the learned Trial Court held that the prosecution failed to prove that the accused raped the prosecutrix on the night of 02/12/2009 in his car and that he destroyed the underwear (panty) of the prosecutrix. The accused therefore came to be acquitted. The State is aggrieved by the said judgment of acquittal.

5. Mr. Amonkar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, assailing the impugned judgment, submitted that there was no dispute that the prosecutrix and her friend Kseneya Kvyhtovskaya were sitting in the Boomerang restaurant on 02/12/2009 and the accused joined them by about 11.15 a.m. He submitted that besides the evidence of the prosecutrix, there was evidence of the Manager of the said Boomerang Hotel and Restaurant at Colva, namely PW8, Shri Rocky Quadrose and the barman namely Vithal Lamani. The evidence of these two witnesses established that the prosecutrix and her friend were in the company of the accused and they left the said Bar at about 2.00 a.m. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor further submitted that though there was no medical evidence of rape committed by accused on the prosecutrix, however, there was evidence of injuries sustained by the prosecutrix on relevant parts of the body, suggesting violence to her body. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor read out the evidence of PW6, Dr. Silvano Sapeco and pointed out the injuries no. 7, 8, 10 and 11 which were all on the thigh of the prosecutrix. He next submitted that the said evidence of injuries sustained by the prosecutrix read with the testimony of the prosecutrix namely PW 19 sufficiently established the case of the prosecution for the offence punishable under Section 376 as well as Section 201 of I.P.C. He submitted that the testimony of the prosecutrix was wholly reliable and not shaken in material aspects. He, therefore, submitted that the impugned Judgment and order is illegal and perverse and is bound to be quashed and set aside. He, therefore, urged that appeal be allowed and the accused be convicted of the said offences.

6. On the other hand, Mr. Dessai, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the accused submitted that the medical evidence not only did not support the prosecution but further destroyed the case of the prosecution since the DNA testing done by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad (C.F.S.L.) showed that the accused was not the contributor of the male DNA recovered from vaginal swabs of the prosecutrix and that the contributor of the male DNA recovered from