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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
S.K. SAHOO, J.
Baman Charan Munda – Appellant
Versus
State of Odisha – Respondent
JCRLA No. 74 of 2015, CRLA Nos. 529 of 2015, 19 of 2016
Decided On : 16-08-2022
Rape - Indian Penal Code, section 376-D, section 506/34 - Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 - section 3(1)(xi)
Fact of the Case:
The appellants faced trial for offences punishable under sections 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and section 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The victim alleged that the appellants forcibly committed rape on her and threatened her not to disclose the incident.
Finding of the Court:
The trial Court acquitted the appellants of the charge under section 3(1)(xi) of the SC & ST (PoA) Act but found them guilty under sections 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code. The Court held that the prosecution's evidence provided sufficient credence to the allegations and found the appellants guilty.
Issues: The issues included the credibility of the victim's testimony, the delay in lodging the first information report, and the lack of corroboration from medical evidence and chemical examination reports.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court emphasized that the evidence of the victim should not be rejected based on minor discrepancies and contradictions. It also highlighted the responsibility of the Court to examine the broader probabilities of the case and not be swayed by insignificant discrepancies in the victim's testimony. The Court stressed that the delay in lodging the first information report was explained and did not affect the credibility of the victim's evidence.
Final Decision: The Criminal Appeals were dismissed, and the sentences passed under both offences were upheld, with a modification to direct that both sentences run concurrently instead of consecutively.
JUDGMENT :
S.K. SAHOO, J.
1. JCRLA No. 74 of 2015 was registered on the basis of the prisoner’s petition received from the appellants Arjun Singh, Baman Charan Munda and Siba Singh, which was admitted on 20.02.2017. Since the appellants Arjun Singh and Siba Singh filed a separate appeal, i.e. CRLA No. 19 of 2016, as per the submission made by the learned counsel for the appellants, JCRLA No. 74 of 2015 was confined only with respect to the appellant Baman Charan Munda as per order dated 28.03.2022.
CRLA No. 529 of 2015 filed by the appellant Patra @ Pabitra Mahakud was presented before this Court on 28.10.2015 and admitted on 29.07.2016.
CRLA No. 19 of 2016 filed by the appellants Arjun Singh and Siba Singh was presented before this Court on 05.01.2016 and admitted on 03.08.2016.
2. All the appellants faced trial in the Court of learned Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Sundargarh in Sessions Trial No. 114 of 2013 for offences punishable under sections 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and section 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 [hereafter ‘SC & ST (PoA) Act’] on the accusation that on 27.02.2013 at about 2.00 p.m. they forcibly committed rape on the victim ‘MM’ inside Silikata jungle near village Kaunala and criminal intimidation by threatening the victim who was a member of Scheduled Tribe.
Learned trial Court vide impugned judgment and order dated 24.09.2015 though acquitted all the appellants of the charge under section 3(1)(xi) of the SC & ST (PoA) Act, but found them guilty under sections 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for twenty years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- (rupees ten thousand) each, in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for two years each for the offence under section 376-D of the Indian Penal Code and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- (rupees two thousand) each, in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months each for the offence under section 506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and both the sentences were directed to run consecutively.
3. The prosecution case, as per the F.I.R. (Ext.10) lodged by the victim (PW-5) on 01.03.2013, in short, is that on 27.02.2013 she was returning home from village Bhaludunguri and she got down at Gurundia bus stand and proceeding on foot towards her village Tumbei and at about 2.00 p.m. while she was passing near a rivulet, locally known as ‘Kaunala’ running by the side of Silikata village jungle road, four youths of her village, who were coming from the side of her village towards Gurundia, suddenly intercepted her way noticing her alone. They started physically manhandling her. The victim shouted, but there was no one nearby to respond to her shouting and thereafter, out of the four appellants, appellant Patra @ Pabitra Mahakud (in CRLA No. 529 of 2015) dragged her to the road side jungle holding her hands while the rest of the three appellants pushed her in the same direction. Inside the jungle, the appellant Patra @ Pabitra Mahakud forcibly raped her first and then the appellant Baman Charan Munda (in JCRLA No. 74 of 2015) followed by appellant Siba Singh (appellant no. 2 in CRLA No. 19 of 2016) and appellant Arjun Singh (appellant no. 1 in CRLA No. 19 of 2016) raped her one after another. After committing rape on her, the appellants also threatened her not to disclose about the occurrence before anybody or else she and her husband would be killed. The victim sustained injuries on different parts of her body and about one hour after the occurrence, she proceeded towards her village after taking some water from the house of Muktu Bhumij (PW-15). Thereafter, somehow or other the victim managed to reach her village and ultimately in her house. Immediately, she could not disclose about the incident before anybody, but subsequently, she informed everything to her husband
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