Judgment

Nanavati, J.—The appellant has been convicted for committing offences punishable under Sections 376 and 302 IPC and Section 3(ii)(iv) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. For the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC death sentence has been imposed upon him. The appellant is challenging his conviction and sentence imposed under those Sections.

2. The prosecution case was that on 7.9.95 at about 7.00 a.m. Kumari Marri, aged about 14 years had gone to ease herself in a field near her house and that while she was so doing, the appellant pounced upon her, pinned her down on the ground, committed rape and when she start­ed resisting and raising shouts, strangulated and killed her by tieing her Salwar around her neck. It was also the prosecution case that hearing her shouts her father Mihilal (P.W. 1) and Avadh Ram (P.W. 2) who had also gone near that field for answering the call of nature, rushed to that place. It was also the prosecution case that they had seen the appellant committing rape and on seeing them the appellant got up and ran away. They had also chased the appellant but he was able to escape.

3. In order to prove its case