- (1.)CHALLENGE in this appeal is to judgment rendered by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Aurangabad, in Sessions Case No.138 of 1994 whereby and whereunder the appellants have been convicted for offences punishable under section 376 and 506 of the I.P. Code and are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three (3) years and to pay fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six (6) months, each, on first count and to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one (1) year and to pay fine of Rs. 200/- each, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three (3) months on the second count.
(2.)THE appellant No.1 - Subhash is related to mother of the prosecutrix being her maternal cousin. The appellant No.2 - Bhaurao is his friend. The prosecutrix (PW Sharda) was a school going girl. She had failed in 10th standard for educational year 1993-94. Her married sister resides at village Antapur-Tarabad (Tq. Satana). Her married elder sister was unwell and, therefore, her father had gone to attend her somewhere in the month of December, 1993. After about a fortnight, somewhere in the beginning of January, 1994, her mother also went to village Antapur-Tarabad to attend the said married sister of the prosecutrix, by name, Anjana. The prosecutrix and her minor brothers were only persons present in their house at the material time.
Briefly stated, the prosecution case is that appellant No.1 - Subhash went to house of the prosecutrix in the evening on the day her mother had gone to village Antapur-Tarabad. He asked where her mother had gone. She informed him that the mother had gone out of station. She was engaged in cooking at the relevant time. The appellant - Subhash then left her house. He again went to her house in the night time while she was about to go to bed. He asked her where her brothers had gone. She told him that they had gone to the school premises for sleeping. One of the brothers was, however, in slumber in the house. Appellant Subhash then asked her to allow him to have sexual intercourse with her. She declined. He forcibly made her to sleep on a bed-sheet and ravished her. He committed sexual intercourse for three (3) times during the night time. He threatened her that if she would tell the incident to anyone else, then she would be done to death and would be defamed in the village locality. Thereafter, he used to visit her house at the interval of a day or two (2). He continued to exploit the situation of her being alone. He then committed sexual intercourse with her for six (6) such days of his visit to her house. On one day, during the relevant period, appellant No.2 Bhaurao visited her house in the noon time. He also demanded sexual pleasures from her, saying that as she had allowed appellant - Subhash to have the sexual intercourse with her, she shall allow him too. He threatened that if she will not permit her to have sexual intercourse, then he would defame her in the village. He committed sexual intercourse with her in that noon. In the same manner, he visited her house at interval of one day, on four (4) occasions and committed sexual intercourse with her. He lateron stopped keeping sexual relationship with her saying that better girls were available at Sillod.

The prosecution alleges that after about three (3) months, the parents of the prosecutrix (PW Sharda) returned to the village. The mother of the prosecutrix was informed by a neighbour that the abdomen of the prosecutrix was apparently abnormal. She suspected the reason for the bulging of the abdomen of the prosecutrix. So, on 22nd June, 1994, the prosecutrix was taken to a Medical Practitioner at Sillod. It was found that she was pregnant. The pregnancy was of about five & half (5 & 1/2) months. The mother thereafter took the prosecutrix to Rural Police Station, at Sillod. A report was lodged by the prosecutrix. It was reduced into writing as per her version and was treated as FIR (Exh-19). The police registered offence of rape and criminal intimidation against the appellants. On basis of material gathered during course of investigation, both the appellants were charge-sheeted for the offences alleged against them.

(3.)A charge (Exh-4) was framed by the learned Sessions Judge, Aurangabad. Both the appellants pleaded not guilty to the charge. They denied truth into the accusations. According to appellant Subhash, parents of the prosecutrix (PW Sharda) insisted that he shall marry her. He, however, declined to marry her because of her being a girl of loose character. He asserted that false complaint was lodged against him due to his refusal to marry her. Appellant -Bhaurao, however, did not adopt any specific defence. According to him, due to his friendship with appellant - Subhash, he has been framed in a false case. Hence, both of them sought acquittal from the charge.
At the trial, the prosecution examined four (4) witnesses in support of its case. The main witness, ofcourse, is the prosecutrix (PW3 Sharda). The learned Sessions Judge was pleased to accept her version as it is. The learned Sessions Judge held that the prosecutrix was ravished by the appellants during the relevant period and both of them had committed sexual intercourse with her without her consent. The learned Sessions Judge also held that they threatened her of injury to her person or to her reputation to cause alarm to her and, therefore, the offence of criminal intimidation was also proved against both of them. In consonance with such findings, they were convicted and sentenced as described hereinabove.