The main legal point established in the judgment is the need to examine evidence as that of an injured witness, the absence of a presumption that the prosecutrix's statement should always be taken as the gospel truth, and the importance of a high-quality and unassailable witness in cases of sexual assault.

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

Aggrieved by the acquittal of the respondent for the offence punishable under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (for short IPC), the State has filed the instant appeal.

2. Briefly stated the case of the prosecution is that on 11.06.2004 the prosecutrix (PW1) filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Hamirpur, wherein allegations of rape was leveled against the respondent. It was alleged that she was employed as water-carrier in the Government Primary School, Swahal and, on 05.05.2004, while returning from the school after getting salary, then at about 1:00 p.m., the respondent accosted her and later on raped her. He also threatened to kill her if she disclosed the facts to any person.

3. This complaint was marked to SHO, Sujanpur, who after holding inquiry filed a cancellation report Ext. PW8/D. However dis-satisifed, the prosecutrix moved an application Ext.PW1/C to the Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur on 02.06.2004 and upon this FIR Ext. PW8/C was registered and the case came to be investigated.

4. On completion of the investigation, final report was presented in the Court on the basis of which charges came to be framed against the accused on 02.07.2008, for having committed offences punishable under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

5. On conclusion of the trial, the respondent was convicted and sentenced by the learned Sessions Judge vide his judgment/order dated 22.07.2008. However, on appeal having been preferred against the said judgment/order, the conviction and sentence was set aside by this Court vide order dated 06.11.2012 and the case was remanded to the Sessions Judge with a specific direction that the respondent be permitted to lead evidence to prove the attendance register of the Government Primary School Swahal, especially, for the month of May, 2004 and thereafter to confront the prosecutrix and another witness (PW5) with the said register.

6. It shall be apposite to refer to the relevant portion of the judgment/order, which reads thus:-

"3. The accused appellant, by means of Cr.M.P. No. 661 of 2012, has filed an application seeking permission to lead additional evidence. The accused appellant has obtained the copies of the attendance registers of the prosecutrix from the Government Primary School, Sawahal and we are concerned with the attendance register for the month of May, 2004. As per this register, the salary was paid to the prosecutrix on 3rd May, 2004 and 5th May, 2004 was a holiday being "Budh Purnima". As observed earlier, the complaint was filed more than three weeks later on 11th June, 2004.

4. To satisfy ourselves, we had called for the original attendance register and we find that the photo copies are true copies of the original register. We, at this stage, are not going into the question whether these registers are properly maintained or not and whether the register depicts the true state of affairs, but the appellant has definitely made out a case for leading additional evidence because if he proves that the entries in this register are correct, then the very basis of the story put up by the prosecutrix would be totally false. Liberty of a citizen is at stake and the additional evidence sought to be placed on record is the registers maintained in a Government School and cannot be lightly brushed aside.

5. In view of the above discussion, we allow the application and permit the appellant to first prove the entries in the registers and thereafter to confront the prosecutrix and PW5 with these registers. Since we are allowing the application, obviously the result is that the conviction of the accused-appellant has to be set aside. The appeal is accordingly allowed and the conviction of the accused - appellant is set aside and the matter is remanded to the learned trial Court with the specific direction that the appellant shall be permitted to lead evidence to prove the attendance registers of Government