JUDGMENT :

(Maulik J. Shelat, J.)

1. The present Acquittal Appeal has been filed under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging the judgment and order dated 24.05.2000 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Vadodara in Session Case No.166 of 1999. The State is in appeal before us. By way of the impugned judgment and order, the accused have been acquitted of all the charges levelled against them under Section 376 read with Section 114 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. The short facts of the prosecution case are as under:-

2.1 The prosecution alleges that the victim and her friend were walking to attend wedding at night. As she lagged behind her friends by about 10 feet. At that time, three men from behind gagged her by putting hand on her mouth and dragged her into the darkness and then gang-raped her. Unable to seek help, she returned home and told her mother. Her mother reported the incident to a police officer at the wedding venue, but he dismissed her concerns. Later, when the victim's mother and brother confronted the accused's family, they were met with hostility and threats. The accused's family members even assaulted the victim's brother and thre