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05-12-2025 24-02-2026 - 24-02-2026 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Judgment reserved on : 05-12-2025 Judgment delivered on : 24-02-2026 CRA No. 1098 of 2008 Jagmohan Kurre S/o Resham Lal Kurre, aged about 20 years, R/o Chhote Gumda, Police Station Gharghoda, District Raigarh (CG)

... Appellant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through District Magistrate, Raigarh, Distt.-

Raigarh CG ... Respondent For Appellant : Mrs. Indira Tripathi, Advocate.

For Respondent : Ms. Nand Kumari Kashyap, Panel Lawyer Hon'ble Smt. Justice Rajani Dubey, J

CAV Judgment

The appellant in this appeal calls in question the legality and validity of the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 23.12.2008 passed by Sessions Judge, Raigarh in ST No.17/2008 whereby the appellant stands convicted and sentenced as under:

Both the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

02. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 30.11.2007 the prosecutrix (PW-1) was all alone in her house as her husband had gone out to the field for getting paddy and did not return till 12 at night. At 12.30 am she was having dinner at the courtyard, at that time the accused Jagmohan Kurre scaling the wall reached the courtyard, caught hold of her, gagged her mouth and forcibly committed sexual intercourse with her. He was also having a knife with him. After this incident, he ran way threatening her. As the tractor of her husband got stuck in the culvert, he returned next day at 7 am and then she narrated the whole incident to him. Thereafter on 1.12.2007 she went with her husband to police station and lodged a report against the accused. After lodging report when she returned her house, accused Resham Lal, father of accused Jagmohan, abused her filthily saying that she lodged a false report against his son.

During the course of investigation, medical examination of the prosecutrix was done, her petticoat was seized, broken pieces of her bangles were seized from the spot, her vaginal slides were prepared and seized; a knife was seized from the accused Jagmohan and his medical examination was also done. The seized articles were sent to FSL for chemical examination. After completing usual formalities of investigation, charge sheet under Sections 456, 376, 506B, 294/34 of IPC was filed against the accused persons.

03. Learned trial Court framed charges under Sections 457 & 376 of IPC against accused Jagmohan whereas accused Resham Lal Kurre was charged under Section 294 of IPC only. They abjured the charges and prayed for trial. In order to substantiate its case the prosecution examined 10 witnesses in all. Statements of the accused were recorded under Section 313 of CrPC wherein they denied all the incriminating circumstances appearing against them in the prosecution case, pleaded innocence and false implication. In their defence, they examined two witnesses.

04. After hearing counsel for the respective parties and appreciation of oral and documentary evidence on record, the learned trial Court while acquitting accused Resham Lal Kurre of the charge under Section 294 of IPC, convicted and sentenced the accused/appellant as mentioned above. Hence this appeal.

05. Learned counsel for the appellant would submit that the impugned judgment is per se illegal and contrary to the material available on record. Learned trial Court ought to have seen that as many as five children of the prosecutrix were present in the house at the time of alleged incident, not even a single struggle mark was found on her body and no neighbour heard the commotion or noticed the alleged act of the accused/appellant. It has come in evidence that on the date of incident the husband of the prosecutrix had beaten the appellant due to some land related dispute going on between them. The evidence of the prosecutrix is also not supported by the medica