U.C. Maheshwari, J. - (1.)ON behalf of the appellant this appeal is preferred under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 being aggrieved by the judgment dated 1.3.2000 passed by the Special Judge constituted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (in short 'the Act') and Sessions Judge, Shivpuri, in Special Case No. 74/1999, whereby the appellant has been convicted and sentenced under Section 376(1) of IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the Act and under Section 450 of IPC for life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 5,000/ - in the earlier count while R.I. for one year with fine of Rs. 1,000/ - in the latter with stipulation of further imprisonment in default of depositing the fine amount.
(2.)THE facts giving rise to this appeal, in short, are that in the midnight of 1st and 2nd July, 1999 when the prosecutrix was sleeping in her residence at village Kanakhedi and her mother -in -law was also sleeping in some other place of such house, the appellant with intention to commit an offence entered in the house of the prosecutrix and after pressing her neck lifted her clothes and committed rape on her. After committing such act, when the prosecutrix was set free by the appellant, then she cried, on which her mother -in -law Dhantibai (PW -2) came there on which the appellant ran away from such house. It is also the case of the prosecution that on such fateful night the husband and father -in -law of the prosecutrix, namely Seetaram and Bharosi, were not at the residence as they had gone to some other village to attend some marriage. After returning the husband and father -in -law, she apprised such incident to them and thereafter accompanied with her husband she came to police Station, Kotwali, Shivpuri, and lodged the first information report (Ex.P/1). After lodging such report, she was sent to the hospital where her medical examination was carried out and MLC report (Ex.P/2) was prepared by Dr. Smt. Veena Kumhra (PW -3). Her clothes were also seized and sent to FSL from where the report Ex.P/7 was received. In further investigation, the appellant was arrested, interrogatory statements of the witnesses were recorded and on completion of the investigation, the appellant was charge -sheeted for the offence punishable under Sections 376(1), 450 of IPC and Section 3(2)(v) of the Act.
After committing the case to the Sessions Court, on evaluation of the charge -sheet, the charges for the above mentioned offences were framed against the appellant. He abjured the guilt on which the trial was held. After recording the evidence and on appreciation of the same, by holding guilty to the appellant for above mentioned offences, he has been convicted and sentenced as mentioned above. Being dissatisfied with such conviction and sentence, the appellant has come to this Court with this appeal.

(3.)THE appellant's counsel Shri Madhukar Kulshrestha after taking us through the evidence adduced by the prosecution alongwith the exhibited papers of the charge -sheet, so also the impugned judgment argued the case with two angles.