MOJIB ANSARI AND ORS. Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) VICTIM girl aged 19 years, being an aspirant of IIT, had certainly a dream of her future life to become a top class engineer, having graduated from a premier institute like Indian Institute of Technology, She was however unaware that one fateful night she would fall prey at the hands of certain persons who were of the age of her brother and father. This not only washed away her dream but also turned out her life completely piteous till she breathed her last. The statement of the victim girl carries horrific account of gang rape continuously from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., by several people of different age group under open sky, at a place known as 'Bharra Basti', dominated by a particular community, 'Muslims'. Although she was saved from critical septicemia by the doctors, which she developed because of the acute infection that had initially developed in her private parts and then progressed further, she lost her mental equilibrium due to flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts about the event that happened, prolonged sadness and feeling of helplessness and most importantly, the act of taunt passed against her by some persons during the investigation of the present case as she was cooperating with police. This brutal and beastly act not only caused physical pain to the victim, but also caused unbearable mental agony for a long time, due to which, her soul left her body leaving behind several questions before us, (a) Is being a girl actually a curse in our society? (b) Had the assemblage of shameless men of age group of her brother and father, who had committed brutal gang rape on victim girl by taking turn from 9 p.m. to early in the morning under open sky, lost their conscience? (c) How had the rapists fulfilled their lust by raping a girl of 19 years continuously in a village of one community in open place on that fateful night without any fear of the stringent law of rape? (d) Why did the rapists even tear the wearing apparels of the victim leaving her naked on that fateful night after committing rape? (e) Why did the rapists compel the victim girl to drink the stinking water of a dirty drain when she felt thirsty? Are they sadist or what was the real reason behind such a brutal rape on an innocent helpless teenager girl by several persons? (f) Why were the rapists, who belonged to one and the same village and all from the same community but for one or two, so fearless as well as confident about their safe position from any action of law against them that they commit such an act of brutal sexual violence, in the presence of several persons at spot, without any hindrance and resistance? (g) Why did none of the villagers try to prevent this crime or even save the victim girl?

(2.) THE insensitive role of police in this heinous crime of gang rape on the innocent teenaged girl, keeping its ears deaf towards the loud cry for justice by the society greatly perturbs our judicial conscience. Case diary prepared by the Investigating Agency speaks volumes of the half -hearted investigation The Investigating Officer did not make any effort to inspect the place of occurrence after lodging the F.I.R. promptly. Had he investigated with intent to know the truth and ascertain the complicity of the accused persons, he certainly would have inspected the place of occurrence promptly. Delay in recovery of apparels of the victim from the place of occurrence indicates that the police reached the place of occurrence with a considerable delay. No investigation was done to find out the car that was used in this offence and to find out the identity of 2 - 3 persons who were present in the car at the time of alleged kidnapping of the victim. The most dirty role of police has surfaced from the evidence brought on record which shows the police remained silent spectator, when filthy comments were being passed against the victim girl when she was accompanying the police for Test Identification Parade (T.I.P.) as well as for recording her statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. This omission of the police to shield the victim from constant taunt adversely affected the investigation as victim refused to accompany the police for T.I.P. of other accused persons. The victim's father too refused to extend cooperation to investigating officer as he realised the traumatic experiences of his daughter. The frequent taunting made the life of victim hell and ultimately she succumbed to that shock. The father of the victim also got himself transferred to another place and shifted with his entire family. Police case diary is completely silent on certain other material facts, the details of which we do not want to delve into at this stage at least.

(3.) THIS , in short, is the sordid flashback of the case without diving deep into the merits which require re -scanning of the entire evidence available on record in its right perspective to arrive at the just conclusion of the case. We now start with that exercise so as to appreciate which piece of evidence has the evidentiary value within the four corners of law and which piece of evidence, although available on record, has to be legally rejected.