The main legal point established in the judgment is that the trustworthy statement of the prosecutrix, supported by medical evidence, is sufficient for conviction in cases of sexual assault, and minor discrepancies or the absence of corroboration do not weaken the prosecution's case.

JUDGMENT :

PUNEET GUPTA, J.

1. The learned Sessions Judge, Udhampur, has held Yog Raj guilty for commission of offence under Section 376 RPC and convicted the accused and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and also fine to the tune of Rs.10,000/-. In default of payment of fine the convict was to undergo further imprisonment for six months. The original challan file has been received by the Registry by way of reference from the trial court. The appeal has been preferred by the convict Yog Raj.

2. The judgment of the trial court is impugned on the ground that the same is not as per the fact and law and prosecution has failed to prove the case against the appellant beyond shadow of doubt. The statements of the prosecution witnesses are not creditworthy and the medical evidence also does not point towards the commission of rape upon the prosecutrix by the appellant as sought to be projected by the prosecution through the evidence produced in the challan.

3. The appellant shall be referred to as accused for purposes of the appeal.

4. The case set up by the prosecution against the accused in the challan is that a written complaint was filed by PW-Pushpa Devi (mother of the prosecutrix)against the accused on 25.07.2012 with Police Station, Ramnagar stating therein that on previous day the complainant had gone to her parental house and on 25.07.2012 at about 10.30 A.M. her 13 years old daughter visited the parental house of the complainant and mentioned that at about 9 A.M.when she was alone in her house the accused took her to his own field and tried to rape her.The prosecutrix tried to save herself from the accused but the father of the prosecutrix stripped the daughter of her clothes forcibly and committed rape upon her once. The daughter of the complainant feeling pain came to her house for informing about the incident. The complaint resulted into registration of FIR No. 106/2012 with Police Station, Ramnagar. The investigation carried out further resulted into presentation of challan against the accused under Section 376 RPC. The charge was framed against the accused under Section 376 RPC. The accused denied the charge and claimed trial.

5. The prosecution examined number of witnesses including the prosecutrix and mother of the prosecutrix. It is necessary to give brief account of the prosecution evidence.

6. PW-Pushpa Devi is mother of the prosecutrix and has given the account of alleged rape committed by the accused as per the version supposedly related by the prosecutrix to her. As per the witness, the accused committed rape upon the prosecutrix in the forest. The accused committed rape upon the victim number of times in different positions. She had informed of incident to brother. The daughter was medically examined by doctor in the hospital and her clothes were also changed. She is witness to the written complaint filed by her and FIR exhibited as EXP1/1 and EXP2/II respectively. She is also witness to the seizure memo shalwar Ext.P1/II. The witness has also stated that the application was written by some police personnel. The day she went to her parental house her children were at the house of her grandparents. The day she left for her parental house, her daughters had returned from her grandfather’s house on the same day in the evening hours. Infact her daughter Radho Devi had visited her parental house and not the prosecutrix and asked to return to her matrimonial house. The witness has then deposed that she had not filed any case against the accused in Ramnagar Court though she was made to sign some papers in Ramnagar Court about 5/6 years back. The witness has also denied about the arrest of the accused in a complaint filed before Women Cell, Jammu. The accused had not entered into any fight with her while they were residing in Jammu. She had informed her brother Suram Chand about the occurrence. She was not having any mobile when she visited her parental house and has also denied that she had any altercat