T.V. Nalawade, J.

1. All these three appeals are filed against the judgment and order of Sessions Case No.121/1994 which was pending in the Court of the learned Sessions Judge, Parbhani. The learned Sessions Judge Parbhani has convicted and sentenced the accused Nos. 1 to 4 and 6 and 7 for offence of gang rape punishable under section 376(2)(g) of Indian Penal Code. Accused Nos.1 to 4 are convicted and sentenced for offence punishable under section 366 read with section 34 of Indian Penal Code. The trial Court has acquitted accused Nos.5, accused No.8 and accused No.9. Criminal Appeal No.153/1999 is filed by the original accused No.7 Kalyan Renge. Criminal Appeal No.157/1999 is filed by Rameshwar Kanade, accused No.4. Criminal Appeal No. 281/1999 is filed by the State. The State has filed the appeal as the trial Court has given sentence of rigorous imprisonment of 10 years only and the State wants to see that the convicted accused are sentenced with life imprisonment. Both the sides are heard.

2. In short, the facts leading to the institution of the appeals can be stated as follows :-

3. Two minor village girls were ravished in Parbhani city and at the outskirts of Parbhani city by different persons. In respect of these incidents two separate charge-sheets were filed and two cases were tried separately against those persons in respect of different incidents. In respect of other incidents, Sessions Case No.139/1994 was filed and that case is also decided by the same learned Judge of the Sessions Court. In that case some accused persons are convicted. That decision is also challenged by the State and the convicted accused and those appeals are being decided separately. In view of the nature of allegations made by the two victim girls in the two cases, the case of the prosecution mentioned in both these cases need to be considered for better appreciation of the facts and circumstances.

4. The two victim girls, PW-4 and PW-5 were friends. They were residents of Partur, District Jalna. At the relevant time they had not crossed age of 16 years. Mother of PW-4 was working as maid servant to earn livelihood and she was required to maintain not only the prosecutrix but also other issues as her husband is dead. Parents of PW-5, other prosecutrix, hail from Hiwarkheda, Tahsil Sindhkhed-Raja, District Buldhana. The parents of PW-5 are very poor and as they could not afford to maintain PW-5, they had kept PW-5 in the house of sister of mother of PW-5 in Partur. PW-5 was not happy due to poverty and also due to bad treatment which she was receiving in the house of her aunt on maternal side.

5. On 3-7-1994 PW-5 had some dispute with her maternal aunt. As she was starving she met PW-4 and expressed that she wanted to work to earn for her livelihood. PW-4 has a relative by name Sham Agrawal and he was running a shop in Parbhani city, District Parbhani. PW-4 expressed that Sham Agrawal can help them in giving job in Parbhani. Due to these circumstances on 3-7- 1994, PW-4 and PW-5 left Partur for Parbhani without informing anything to anybody from Partur.

6. PW-4 and PW-5 first walked up to Raipur where there is a field of relative of PW-4. Persons working in the field knew PW-4 and they gave food and shelter to PW-4 and PW-5. PW-4 and PW-5 slept in the field from Raipur on the night between 3-7-1994 and 4-7-1994. On 4-7-1994, early in the morning they went to Osmanpur Railway Station on foot and there they boarded a train proceeding to Parbhani.

7. On the train PW-4 and PW-5 met Raju and Abhay, the boys who were known to PW-5. These boys were also proceeding to Parbhani and they were doing some course in Parbhani. During talk, PW-4 and PW-5 disclosed to these boys that they were going to Parbhani in search of job. These boys advised the victim girls not to go to Parbhani and return to home. They informed that it was not safe for them to go to Parbhani. PW-4 and PW-5 and the two boys alighted at Parbhani from train. As the boys were advising