PATRA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(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 20/2/2017. 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 dtd. 28/3/2022.

(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 Sec. 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sec. 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereafter 'S.C. and S.T. (PoA) Act') on the accusation that on 27/2/2013 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.

(3.) The prosecution case, as per the F.I.R. (Ext.10) lodged by the victim (P.W.5) on 1/3/2013, in short, is that on 27/2/2013 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 (P.W.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 Dambaru Munda (P.W.6), who on 1/3/2013 brought her to Gurundia police station. At Gurundia police station, the victim reported the matter orally before S.K. Mallick, S.I. of the police station, who reduced her version into writing, which was treated as F.I.R. and Gurundia P.S. Case No.04 of 2013 was registered under Sec. 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sec. 3(1)(xi) of the S.C. and S.T. (PoA) Act. As one of the offences i.e. under sec. 3(1)(xi) of the S.C. and S.T. (PoA) Act was there, the then S.D.P.O., Bonai, Sri A.K. Panda (P.W.17) took up investigation of the case, examined the victim as well as her husband at the police station and recorded their statements, sent the victim for medical examination on police requisition, visited the spot, visited the village of the victim and examined the witnesses. During course of investigation, P.W.17 arrested the appellants Baman Charan Munda, Patra@ Pabitra Mahakud and Arjun Singh and thereafter, he also arrested the appellant Siba Singh on 23/5/2013 and forwarded all the appellants to judicial custody. P.W.17 made various seizures, examined other material witnesses, sent requisition to the concerned Tahasildar for issue of caste particulars of the victim as well as the appellants and on completion of investigation, he submitted charge sheet on 23/5/2013 against all the appellants under Sec. 376-D/506/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sec. 3(1)(xi) of the S.C. and S.T. (PoA) Act.