The prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; inconsistencies and lack of corroborative evidence led to the acquittal of the accused.

JUDGMENT :

Atul Sreedharan, J.

1. The present appeal has been preferred by the appellants who have been convicted by the impugned order dated 11.11.2017, arising from FIR No. 67/2015, which was registered against the appellants-herein for offences under Sections 363/376/120-B/342/506 of Ranbir Penal Code.

2. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

3. On 12.05.2015, at about 12.20 p.m PW-2, the father of the prosecutrix lodged a written report being EXTP-1 at P.S Reasi, alleging that on 09.05.2015, A-3, in the absence of this witness, took his daughter, aged 15/16 years, for collecting firewood in the jungle. The reputation of A-3 is dubious according to the prosecution, and that the prosecutrix was taken away in absence of her father. Thereafter, it is alleged that A-3, on the pretext of attending the call of nature went away and thereafter A-1 and A-2 reached the scene of occurrence and committed rape upon the prosecutrix one after the another. Thereafter, the accused persons are alleged to have kept the prosecutrix in the jungle for the whole night after which she was released from the custody and disclosed the whole incident to her parents after she reached home. It is also the case of the prosecution that on 11.05.2015, a meeting was convened in the village in which the appellants apparently threatened the father of prosecutrix with dire consequences if he takes any legal action against them. Based on EXTPW-1, FIR No. 67/2015 for the aforementioned offences was registered and the matter taken into investigation. The Investigating Officer PW-12 got the prosecutrix medically examined. The pyjama was re-sealed and sent to the FSL for chemical examination and the FSL Report/opinion was received on 24.05.2017, which is marked as Mark-A and Mark-B, respectively.

4. The FSL Report reflects that the Panama with cord reveals Human semen stains/spermatozoa on Exhibit No. K-99/2015 and blood stains were also detected.

5. The FSL Reports also discloses that the “Group of seminal stains/blood stains could not be determined on account of interfering substances.”

6. Learned counsel for the appellants has drawn the attention of this Court to the statement of PW-1 who is the prosecutrix who states that she knows the appellants and that on the date of the incident, A-3 came to her house and asked her to accompany her to jungle for firewood. She further says that on that day her parents and her brother were not at home, and she was taken to the nearby jungle where they collected firewood. She further states that A-3 went away from there after receiving a phone call on the pretext of answering nature’s call after which A-1 and A-2, the appellants-herein, reached the spot and committed rape on the prosecutrix one after the other. She also says that she felt pain and she cried. Further, she states that she had to remain in jungle for the whole night and on the next day between 9 and 10 am, her father and uncle Tilak Raj reached the spot and upon seeing them, the appellants-herein ran away. She further says that the appellants asked her father to settle the matter amicably which he refused. She also refers to meetings that were convened for two to three days between the complainant side and the accused side and thereafter, on 12^th the FIR was registered, and the IO took her to the hospital for medical examination and for recording her statement under 164-A Cr.P.C. She has proved her 164-A statement which is marked as EXTP-2 and also states that she was studying in the Government High School, Kanjali.

7. In cross-examination by the defence, she says that the appellants who were accused A-1 and A-2 were her neighbours and used to visit her house once or twice in a month and they were no strangers to her. She also denies any threat being given by A-3 in order to compel her to go to the jungle to collect firewood. She says that during the sexual assault, she suffered abrasions, and her clothes had got torn and that she sustained injuries on her shoulder