The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of corroboration of the victim's testimony and the need for circumstances to support the victim's version by way of corroboration in cases of sexual offenses.

P. K. PATRA, J.

( 1 ) THE appellant has challenged the judgment dated 8-8-1995 passed by Shri B. N. Das, Assistant Sessions Judge, Jeypore in Sessions Judge No. 30 of 1994 convicting him under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as 'ipc') and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000. 00, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of six months.

( 2 ) PROSECUTION case briefly stated is as follows :-ON 5-8-1994 at about 2 p. m. the victim girl (P. W. 6), aged about 14 years, was returning to her house in village Sana Chindiri under Koraput Town police station in the district of Koraput after taking bath in a nearby nalla when the appellant (hereinafter referred to as the 'accused') who is her co-villager dragged her to a hillock and committed rape on her inside a dilapidated hut against her will and without her consent. It is alleged that the accused threatened P. W. 6 at the point of knife and detained her till 12 midnight whereafter he took her to the village and left her near the school from where P. W. 6 went to her house and silently slept without disclosing the occurrence to any of her family members. On the following morning she narrated the occurrence to her father (P. W. 12) who convened a meeting of the villagers, but nothing could be decided in the meeting since the accused was found absent in the village and hence P. W. 6 accompanied by P. W. 12 went to Koraput Town Police Station and orally reported the occurrence which was reduced to writing as per Ext. 1 by the O. I. C. of the police station. The O. I. C. directed P. W. 11, and S. I. of the police station, to take up investigation. During investigation P. W. 1 examined witnesses, visited the spot, seized the wearing apparels of the victim girl and the accused and sent the same for serological test and sent the accused and the victim girl for medical examination. After completion of investigation chargesheet was submitted against the accused who stood his trial. The plea of defence is one of denial.

( 3 ) MISS Panda, learned counsel for the appellant, and the learned Addl. Standing Counsel were heard at length. Learned counsel for the appellant assailing the impugned judgment as unsustainable, contended that the trial Court fell into errors in basing the conviction of the accused on the uncorroborated and sole testimony of the victim girl. Learned Additional Sanding Counsel supported the impugned judgment.

( 4 ) PROSECUTION has examined fourteen witnesses in all to bring home the charge against the accused. The trial Court placed reliance on the testimony of the victim (P. W. 6) holding that the same was trustworthy and unimpeachable and corroborated by the statements of her parents (P. Ws. 12 and 13 ). P. Ws. 1 to 5 are the post-occurrence witnesses, P. Ws. 7 and 8 are the police constables who produced the accused before the medical officer for examination. P. Ws. 9 and 10 are the two constables who produced the victim girl before the medical officer for medical examination. P. W. 14 is a witness to the seizure of the Lungi of the accused and P. W. 11 is the investigating officer in the case. The defence has examined one witness in support of its case.

( 5 ) THOUGH it is stated in the FIR that P. W. 6 was aged about fourteen years, at the time of her deposition on 4-4-1995 she has given her age to be sixteen years and in her statement in cross-examination she has stated that she was born in the year 1974. If her statement is believed to be true, she was aged about twenty years at the time of the alleged occurrence in the year 1994. Though she has read up to Class V, the school admission register showing her date of birth has not been seized or produced in Court. P. W. 1, who is a cousin of P. W. 6, in his statement in cross-examination has stated that P. W. 6 was aged about eighteen to nineteen years at the time of the alleged occurrence. The X-ray examinatio