1. Both the criminal appeals were heard together as they arise out of the same judgment of conviction and sentence, passed in Sessions Trial No. 128/94 whereby the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh convicted the appellants under Secs. 376 and 380, I.P.C. and both the appellants were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years under Sec. 376, I.P.C. and two years rigorous imprisonment under Sec. 380, I.P.C. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Both the appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment.

2. The case of the prosecution in a nutshell is that the informant, Parvati Devi after the death of her husband was working as labourer in the Sirka Colliery of C.C.L. and was living in a quarter of the colliery situated at Argada with her ten years old son Rakesh Kumar. It is alleged that in the night of 25-8-93 when the informant and her son were sleeping in the quarter at about 10.30 p.m., accused Gouri Paswan came and asked the informant to open the door, but the informant refused to open the door and thereafter he pushed the door as a result of which the door was broken and thereafter the accused persons, namely, Gouri Paswan, Surendra Singh, Nandkishore Mahto (appellant) Ramesh Karmali (appellant) and Naresh Kumar Gupta entered into the quarter. They were duly identified in the electric light. The accused Gouri Paswan took the informant, Parwati Devi to the next room adjacent to the bed-room and thereafter the accused, Gouri Paswan, Naresh Kumar Gupta and Surendra Singh raped her, whereas accused Ramesh Karmali and Nandkishore Mahto were searching her bedroom. It is further stated that all the above five accused persons took her into a jungle nearby and the accused Gouri Paswan, Ramesh Karmali (appellant) and Nandkishore Mahto (appellant) again committed rape on her forcibly. It is further alleged that the co-accused Janki Paswan was seen standing in front of his quarter. It is further alleged that the accused persons threatened her for dire consequences if the incident would be disclosed. It is further alleged that after committing rape on the informant, the accused persons got her private part and cloths washed in the water of nearby stream. The informant also found that two of the accused persons were searching her bedroom and they had taken away gold, silver ornaments worth Rs. 25,000.00 . It is further stated that out of fear the informant on the next morning of the occurrence went to Ramgarh and she narrated the incident to one Rajendra Prasad Sharma who was a friend of her deceased-husband and thereafter she reported the matter before the police and her fardbayan was recorded. The FIR was lodged accordingly under Sec. 376, 380/120-B, I.P.C. The police investigated into the case and submitted charge-sheet against the accused persons, including the appellants. All the accused persons including the appellants appeared before the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh and accordingly charges were framed against all the accused persons including the appellants to which they pleaded not guilty. The witnesses were examined in the lower Court and after considering the evidence on record, the learned Court below convicted the accused persons including the appellants for the offences charged and sentenced to undergo R.I. in the manner, as stated above.

3. Being aggrieved by the impugned judgment both the appellants preferred the appeals alleging therein that they have been falsely implicated in this case out of enmity and the learned Court below committed error in convicting the appellants as there is also much contradiction in the evidence of the witnesses.

4. The learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the whole prosecution case has been concocted as the FIR has been lodged after much delay of the occurrence in which there is no explanation. It is further argued that there is no corroboration of the evidence of the informant, Parwati Devi and this case has bee