A person who takes a minor girl away from her lawful guardian, even with her consent, with the intention of marrying her or committing sexual intercourse, is guilty of kidnapping.

1. The five appellants were charged with kidnapping and under a separate charge, with abduction, both under S. 366, Indian Penal Code, and were found guilty of both the charges, the three male appellants have been awarded a sentence of five years rigorous imprisonment each and the two female appellants, one years rigorous imprisonment each for kidnapping and no separate sentence has been passed for the offence of abduction.

2. Appellant Satyadeo Dubey and Kapildeo Dubey are uterine brothers and Mt. Bhagia is their mother. Appellant Chandradeo Dubey is the husband of appellant Mt. Surji and these two appellants live in a separate house from the other appellants, although, Chandradeo Dubey is an uncle of Satyadeo and Kapildeo. They are all residents of mauza Chochahi Tole Batrolia within Paroo Police Station of the district of Muzaffarpur. The girl, said to have been kidnapped is Sumitra Devi (P. W. 14) and is said to have been minor on the date of alleged kidnapping on the 19th August, 1962, from a house situate in the same village where the appellants come from. Her father is Jagdhari Dubey (P. W. 13) and her mother is Champa Devi (P. W. 8) and her uncle is Rajdhari (P. W. 11). Makeshwar (P. W. 1), a child aged about ten years, is her own brother. They all lived in the same house with the girl but her father, who was a constable at Patna at about the time of occurrence, was on leave for a few days. The girl (P. W. 14) was unmarried at the time of occurrence, though, she has since been given in marriage to one Kapildeo Pathak of a different village.

3. The prosecution case, briefly stated, is as follows: Between 11 and 12 noon of the 19th August, 1962, the girl (P. W. 14) and her brother (P. W. 1) were the only persons present in their house and other members were away for one reason or another of their own. The female appellants who had been on visiting terms with the girl and the members of her family, went to her house during that interval and proposed to her to go to Muzaffarpur for seeing cinema. Immediately she entered into her room, prepared a bundle which contained her clothes, ornaments and some cash and came out, ready to go along with the two ladies. Mt. Surji held her bundle, Bhagia held her hand and along with them she went to "their angan" which was at a short distance from hers. The three male appellants were there. Appellant Satyadeo Dubey told her that he would marry her. The three male appellants also asked her to go to Muzaffarpur to see cinema. She told them that she would not marry and wanted to run away to her house but they did not allow her to go away. Showing a chhura, they threatened to kill her and, there. fore, she was not able to run away.

The three male appellants thus forcibly took her on foot and proceeded north. They reached mauza Karja wherefrom she was taken by a bus to Muzaffarpur by the three male appellants. At Muzaffarpur, they kept her in the house of one Sheodhari Singh in Mahalla Maripur and she was made to remain in their house for about 21/2 months. She has been kept under lock and not allowed to go out. After about 21/2 months the girl was taken by the three male appellants to Mohammadpur where she was kept in the house of one Benga Sahni for about one week. There also she was kept confined and was not allowed to move about or talk to anybody else. After about a week, the Barpanch Sheouath Prasai Singh (P. W. 6) of Mohammadpur, having learnt about the concealment of the girl in the house of Benga Sahni, recovered her and, as desired by the girl, he reached her to her parents place.

4. A written report (Ext. 1) about the kidnapping and abduction of the girl was made by her uncle (P. W. 11) at the Thana at Paroo, some 5 milea from the place of occurrence at 12 p. m. on the 19th August, 1962, before the Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, Suraj Kant Mishra (P. W. 19). He registered a case and proceeded with the investigation of it. He visited the house of the girl the same evenin