Ashwin S/o Ashok Donode vs State of Maharashtra

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2022 Supreme(Bom) 837

IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY, (NAGPUR BENCH)
G.A. Sanap, Sunil B. Shukre, JJ.
Ashwin S/o Ashok Donode – Petitioner
Versus
State of Maharashtra – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 748 Of 2018 with Criminal Appeal No. 63 Of 2019 with Criminal Appeal No. 308 Of 2019 with Criminal Appeal No. 409 Of 2019
Decided On : 20-07-2022

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Shri C. R. Thakur.
For the Respondent: Shri S. S. Doifode.

Headnote:(A) Indian Penal Code - Sections 376

(D), 366, 506(II), 170 read with Section 34 - Conviction and sentencing of appellants for gang rape, abduction and criminal intimidation - Rigorous imprisonment for various terms along with fines imposed. (Para 3)

(B) Evidence - Testimony of victim and corroboration by witness - Court finds victim's account credible, emphasizing that victim's testimony is vital in sexual assault cases. (Paras 16, 25, 26)

(C) Identification Procedures - Victim's identification of the accused via Test Identification Parade deemed reliable despite defense claims of issues with visibility. (Paras 18, 28)

(D) DNA Evidence - Strong corroborative evidence from DNA analysis linking the accused to the crime highlights the evidentiary weight of forensic results in sexual assault. (Paras 32, 43)

Facts of the case:
The victim, a teacher, was abducted and subjected to gang rape by five men disguised as police officers while with her friend. The crime was reported hours later, leading to the arrest of the accused after a thorough investigation supported by eyewitness and DNA evidence. (Paras 5, 21, 50)

Findings of Court:
The evidence from the victim and supporting witnesses established guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the victim’s testimony is deemed reliable and corroborated by scientific evidence. (Paras 51, 52)

Issues: The main issues addressed include the credibility of the victim's statement, the reliability of identification procedures, and the weight of DNA evidence in convicting the accused.

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the testimony of the victim, supported by corroborative evidence from eyewitnesses and DNA analysis, leads to affirming the conviction despite contentions regarding witness reliability and evidence admissibility.

Result: Appeals dismissed, conviction and sentence upheld.

Table of Content
1. description of the crime and victim's account. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10)
2. arguments presented by parties in appeals. (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15)
3. court analysis of victim testimony reliability. (Para 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20)
4. corroborative evidence from witnesses. (Para 21 , 22 , 23 , 24)
5. medical evidence supporting victim's account. (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32)
6. conclusion affirming conviction. (Para 52)

JUDGMENT :

G.A. Sanap, J.

1. These four appeals arise out of the judgment and order dated 23rd of October, 2018 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur in Sessions Trial No. 278 of 2016 and the same are being disposed of by this common judgment.

2. Criminal Appeal No.748 of 2018 is filed by appellant – Ashwin Ashok Donode/original accused no.4. Criminal Appeal No.63 of 2019 is filed by appellants Anil Raju Ingle/original accused Nos.3 and Roshan @ Ashish S/o Madhukarrao Ingle/original accused no.6 ; Criminal Appeal No. 308 of 2019 is filed by appellant – Pundlik S/o Domaji Bhoyar/Original accused No.5, Criminal Appeal No. 409 of 2019 is filed by appellant – Mohd. Afroz S/o Jiyauddin Pathan/original accused no.1.

3. The learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted all the appellants for the offences punishable under Sections 376(D), 366, 506(II), 170 read with Section 34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE . They are awarded sentence for these offences as follows :

(ii) For the offence punishable under Section 366 read with Section 34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , they are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months each.

(iii) For the offence punishable under Section 506(II) read with Section 34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , they are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- each and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months each.

(iv) For the offence punishable under Section 170 read with Sec. 34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , they are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- each and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three months each.

4. The learned Judge acquitted original accused no.2 – Sudarshan Gajanan Mhaiskar of all the offences. In this judgment, the appellants would be referred to by their numbers and nomenclature before the trial Court. The prosecutrix would be referred to as “the victim”.

5. The report was lodged by the victim herself at Kalamna Police Station on 2nd December, 2014. The facts unfolded from the report reveal that she resides at Mangaldeep Nagar-2, Besa Road, Manewada, Nagpur with her family. At the relevant time, she was serving as an Assistant Teacher in St. Paul High School, Hudkeshwar, Nagpur. One Shailesh Sheware (PW4) got acquainted with the victim on facebook. They became friends. They used to meet with each other on account of their friendship. It is stated that on 1st December, 2014 at about 2.00 pm Shailesh made a phone call to the victim and they decided to meet at Swaminarayan Temple, Wathoda, Nandanwan in the evening. The victim left a message with her neighbour Smt. Swati Bhongade and left her house at 6.15 p.m. on her Honda Activa moped bearing registration No. MH-31/ER-5226. Shailesh met her at Kharbi square. They together went to Swaminarayan Temple. After offering prayers, they proceeded towards H.B.Town square by highway. After proceeding on the highway at some distance, they took ‘U’ turn and stopped at one place and were talking to each other.

6. It is the case of the prosecution that at about 8.00 p.m., five persons came on motorcycles from behind and proceeded ahead of the vi

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2022 Supreme(Bom) 837

Cases Referred (2)