Joseph Francis, J.

1. In Sessions Case No.187 of 1999 on the file of the Additional Sessions Court, Kottayam, 40 accused persons are charge-sheeted by the Inspector General of Police, State Crime Record Bureau, Police Headquarters, Trivandrum for the offences punishable under Sections 120 B, 363, 365, 366A, 368, 372, 373, 376, 376(2)(g), 392 and 109 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, 'the IPC').

2. The prosecution case is briefly as follows : PW3, the Prosecutrix (name withheld) was aged 16 years 3 months and 23 days at the time of occurrence in 1996. She is the daughter of PW1, Mani Markose, the then Postmaster of Munnar Post Office. His wife Eathamma, the mother of the Prosecutrix was then a Nurse in Surianalle Estate. PW1, his wife and their second daughter PW3 were residing in the quarters allotted to them situated at Surianalle Estate. A1 Raju and A2 Usha along with Dharmarajan hatched out a criminal conspiracy some days prior to 16.1.1996 at Adimaly to kidnap PW3 from the lawful guardianship of her parents and to secretly and wrongfully confine her to commit rape and gang rape on her and to sell her to other accused for the purpose of derivin