HC upholds rapist’s 10-yr sentence

SHILLONG: The High Court of Meghalaya has upheld the judgement of the Additional District Council Court, Khasi Hills, which sentenced an accused to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for offences under Sections 376 ( rape) and 506 ( criminal intimidation) of IPC.
An application was filed in the High Court seeking suspension of execution of sentence issued by the Additional Judge, Additional District Council Court, Khasi Hills, passed earlier this year.
During the hearing, it was strenuously contended on behalf of the appellant that the trial court proceeded to convict the accused only on the basis of the testimony of the prosecutrix (a female plaintiff) that remains unreliable.
It was contended that the FIR in the case was lodged after a gap of over 7 years of the alleged incident of rape and that too, only after due consultation with other persons and after the proposal for settlement did not materialise; and in this matter, conviction could not have been recorded only on the basis of the testimony of prosecutrix.
While considering the matter on the prayer for suspension of execution of the sentence, the Court said that it would, obviously, not be making any final comment on the merits of the case but having examined the record, the findings of the trial court, and the relevant parts of the testimony of prosecutrix, the court is not persuaded to grant the application for suspension of execution of sentence in this matter.
“The peculiar circumstances of the present case remain that though the FIR alleging the incidents of rape in the year 2003 came to be lodged only in 2010, the prosecutrix has narrated the alleged incidents and the ordeal she went through at the age of about 7 years in the year 2003 with reasonable certainty; and has also indicated in her statement about her traumatic condition, both mental and physical, where she even attempted to commit suicide and ultimately divulged the facts to her teacher in the school,” the Court said.
According to court, her testimony and other factors would be the matters for consideration at the time of final hearing of the appeal but at the juncture, the court does not see any reason to discard and disbelieve the testimony of the prosecutrix.
The court, however, added that its observations in the order are relevant only for the purpose of the application seeking suspension and shall have no bearing on the merit consideration of appeal.