JUDGMENT M. Karpagavinayagam, J.On 20th July, 1988 at about 5.30 p.m., Kalpana Sumathi, the victim woman was proceeding with a plastic green vessel carrying in her hand to the bore-well pump situated in a school compound in order to fetch water by crossing through the police station.At that time, she had never dreamt that she would be whisked away and forcibly taken inside the police station and gang raped by four police officials one after another.The irony is that victim woman was taken inside the store room of the police station by a woman Sweeper working in the police station.The incident was so horrible that she was beaten by police officials with sticks inflicting injuries all over her body and then she was raped by the police personnel from the rank of Inspector of Police to the rank of Constable one after another.The uniformity in the sad episode is that while they committed gang rape inside the police station, they were in uniform and on duty.Their lustful duty did not end with that.The victim woman who became unconscious was thereafter bodily lifted to a secluded place behind the police station and was thrown off into a ditch of 7 feet depth.Without satisfying that, those police personnel on duty threw big stones on her head to finish her once for all.Thinking that she died, they went back to police station for joining their regular duties."(a) Kalpana Sumathi (P.W.1) is the wife of Venkatesamurthy (P.W.3).They are residents of Thalli village.She is working as a Teacher in a private Nursery School.After their wedlock, a female child was born to them.(b) On 20.7.1988 at about 5.30 p.m., P.W.1 Kalpana Sumathi went with a plastic vessel to fetch water from the bore-well pump situated near the Thalli Police Station.At that time, A5 Lakshmi, who was working as the Sweeper in the said police station, put a cloth on her head and after hitting her forcibly abducted and took her inside the police station.There, she was pushed inside the store-room and her head hit the wall.When she tried to go out of the room, A3 Selvaraj, the Writer, A4 Govindasamy, the Constable, A5 Lakshmi closed the door.Thereafter, A1 Balasubramanian, the Inspector of Police, A2 Govindarajan, the Head Constable, A3 Selvaraj, Writer and A4 Govindasamy, Constable committed rape one after another.Then, A2, A3 and A4 again came inside and beat the victim on her head with sticks.The victim receiving bleeding injuries on the head and other parts of the body became unconscious.Then, A2 to A5 lifted her body and took to a secluded place through the backyard of the police station and threw the body into a pit of 7 feet depth.Then, they took two big stones and threw them on her head and left the place.(c) In the meantime, P.W.3 Venkatesamurthy, her husband having waited till 7.30 p.m. for the arrival of P.W.1 from bore-well pump, went to the bore-well pump in search of her along with P.W.4 Sekar, P.W.5 Nagaraj and two others.She was not available there.But, P.W.3 found the plastic vessel which was carried by P.W.1 to fetch water lying on the floor near the bore-well pump.Then, P.W.3, his relatives and others arranged a Van and went to various places like Hosur and Elathagiri where their relatives reside, in search of her.Since she was not available there, P.W.3 and others came back to the village.(d) Next day i.e. on 21.7.1988 at about 11.00 a.m. he came to know that the body of the victim was found lying in a canal at the corner of the village and so, he and others went there.To their utter shock, she was found semi-naked with injuries all over the body in a pit.However, she was found alive.P.W.6 Ramakrishnan, another Teacher immediately rushed to the police station and requested A3 Selvaraj, Writer who was available then to come to the scene for recording her statement.A3 did not evince any interest.He simply asked P.W.6 to take the victim to the hospital,if she is alive.(e) Then, P.W.1 was taken in a Tempo and brought to the Hosur Government Hospital at 12.45 p.m. P.W.18 Dr.Padmavathy examined her and found 21 injuries all over the body.Since there was heavy bleeding, P.W.18 advised that the victim to be taken to Saint John Hospital, Bangalore.Accordingly, she was taken and admitted at 5.30 p.m. in the Bangalore Hospital.P.W.16 Dr.Norman attached to Bangalore Hospital examined her and found serious injuries and also fracture in the bone and different parts of the body.Though she was conscious, she was not able to give any details as to how she sustained injuries.Noticing her condition, P.W.17, a Psychiatric Doctor was brought and constant treatment was given to her.(f) Meanwhile, on a complaint received from P.W.3 husband, the case was registered by Sethu Madhavan, Sub Inspector of Police of the Thalli Police Station on 21.7.1988 at about 3.30 p.m. for the offences under Sections 354, 325 and 323 I.P.C. Nonetheless, the police did not take further action in the matter.P.W.7 Subba Rao, an elder of the village on finding that no further action was taken by the police, presented a memorandum to the Collector to take further action on the complaint given by P.W.3 husband.(g) On 28,7,1988, P.W.7 went to Bangalore Hospital and met her.On seeing him, P.W.1 wept, but did not give any details.When she was insisted for the details, she reluctantly told him that Lakshmi, Sweeper(A5) would give all the details.Thereafter, there was a public agitation expressing their protest for the inaction of the police.Then, an enquiry was conducted and the public were invited to give statements.(i) On 1.8.1988, P.W.19 after such inquiry, sent a report to the District Collector.Then, on 3.8.1988, he was directed by the Collector to initiate inquiry under Clause 145 of the Police Standing Orders to find out the involvement of the police officials in the incident.On 4.8.1988, P.W.19 went to the Bangalore hospital and examined P.W.1 and obtained her statement Ex.Though she stated in Ex.P54 that she was forcibly abducted by A5 to the police station, she did not give further details, as she was not able to remember them.So, again on 6.8.1988, he obtained another statement Ex.P56 from the victim in which she gave all the details about the gang rape and beating etc. by the police.Then, he continued the inquiry and finished the same and then sent the report to the Collector.(l) During the course of trial, P.Ws.1 to 19 were examined, Exs."(a) P.W.1 on 20.7.1988 at about 5.30 p.m. went to the bore pump situated in a school compound next to police station carrying a plastic vessel (kudam) to fetch water.P.W.2 Jayammal after taking water came back through police station.She saw P.W.1 coming towards bore pump near the police station.Few minutes later, A5 Lakshmi, a woman Sweeper working in the police station put a cloth on her head and pulled her.P.W.1 felt that somebody beat her on the back of the head.In the process of her being pulled, P.W.1 dropped the kudam at the spot itself.She became semi-conscious.However, she was able to feel that she was taken to police station and pushed into a room.(b) After some minutes, she regained full consciousness and found that she was in a store-room containing old articles.Then, she cried and banged the door which was locked from outside.At that time, A3 Selvaraj, Writer, A4 Govindasamy, Constable and A5 Lakshmi, Sweeper opened the door and came inside.The electric light inside was burning then.They asked her to keep quiet and told her that she would not be allowed to go back to her home.When she cried and tried to escape through the door, the door was closed forcibly by the accused, with the result her right fingers got crushed.Thereafter, she was pushed towards the wall, thereby her head got hit on the wall resulting in the bleeding injuries.Further, they beat her.Unable to bear the same, she again became unconscious.(c) After some time, she gained consciousness and tried to get up from the floor.At that time, A3 Writer and A4 Constable came and asked to call Circle Inspector (A1) and Govindarajan, Head Constable (A2) to the room.Within a few minutes, all the accused (A1 to A4) came inside the room.All the police officers were in uniform.Then, she was made to lie down and A1 pulled the saree up, laid down on her body and raped her.Thereafter, A1 got up and called the other accused and asked them to have sexual intercourse with her and finish her.So saying, he left the place.(e) Then, A3 Writer came and raped her.After he went out, A4 Constable came inside and committed rape.Lastly, A2 Head Constable came and raped her.She could not resist then, since she sustained serious bleeding injuries on the head and hand.Again A2 to A4 came inside and all of them hit on her head.This time, she completely lost her consciousness.She did not know what happened to her subsequently.When P.W.3, the husband of P.W.1 finding that the victim did not turn up home after fetching water, went in search of P.W.1 at 10.30 p.m. to the bore pump.At that point of time, he found that all the doors of the police station were closed and one light was burning inside the police station.He found the plastic green kudam which was carried by P.W.1 while she left home lying near the bore pump.According to P.W.3, on noticing the kudam lying in the ground, he got fainted.It is also not disputed that the pit from where she was rescued was situated at the backyard of the police station just 75 metres away.P.W.18 Doctor in her deposition would state that all the 21 injuries were found smeared with sand.P.W.6, a Teacher working in a Panchayat Union School at Thalli village would state that he went to the police station along with a former M.L.A. and visited the storeroom.He found bloodstained patches in the said room.Both in Exs.P2 and P3, he mentioned about the same.There is no dispute in the fact that the victim was admitted in the Bangalore Hospital on 21.7.1988 and discharged only on 12.10.1988 after nearly 2 1/2 months during which she was in the hospital.Immediately thereafter, he filed the requisition before the Court to make arrangements for conducting identification parade.The perusal of Ex.It is also clear from Ex.P39 F.I.R. and Ex.P41 mahazar for recovery of stones from the scene that the body was lying down in a pit which is just one furlong from the police station.The victim was admitted in the hospital on 21.7.1988 at 12.45 p.m. There was no anxiety shown by the police officials in the Thalli Police Station to register a case, even though a victim girl was found with injuries near the police station.In the meantime, the public gathered in front of the police station and resorted to agitation.It was also informed to the Collector that there would be a Hartal and general strike on 30.7.1988 if no further action is taken.On receipt of the information, P.W.19 R.D.O. went to Thalli village and conducted enquiry.During the course of enquiry also, the agitation by the public continued protesting against inaction of the police.It is noticed that during the course of trial, both P.W.1, the victim and P.W.19, the R.D.O. had been cross-examined at length.All the four police officials and the Sweeper woman, arrayed as A1 to A5, were charged for the offences of gang rape, attempt to commit murder and abetment etc. and tried.Ultimately, they were convicted and sentenced.Challenging the said conviction and sentence, A1, the Inspector of Police has filed a separate appeal in Crl.A.No.765 of 1993 and A2 to A4, the Constables, have filed appeal in Crl.Since the adequate sentence has not been imposed upon the accused who committed gang rape as provided in Section 376(2)(g) I.P.C., the victim Kalpana Sumathi has preferred a revision in Crl.R.C.No.172 of 1994 requesting for enhancement of sentence.Both these appeals and revision are being disposed of through this common judgment.The brief facts of the shameless intrigue as unravelled by the prosecution are as follows:(j) Accepting the report, the Collector then passed an order directing P.W.19 R.D.O. to file a complaint against the police officials concerned.Consequently, the permission was granted to file a complaint to prosecute the officials as well as the Sweeper woman.P1 to P70 were filed and M.Os.1 to 33 were marked on the side of prosecution.The accused while answering the questions under Section 313 Cr.P.C., simply denied their complicity in the crime.They did not adduce any evidence on their side.(m) On appreciation of the evidence available on record, the trial Court found all the accused guilty under Sections 366, 366 read with 109,,342 read with 109, 376, 326, 307, 307 read with 109, 376 read with 109, 201 and 326 read with 34 I.P.C. The Court sentenced A1 to A4 to undergo R.I. for 3 years and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 366 read with 109 I.P.C.; R.I. for one year for the offence under Section 342 read with 109 I.P.C.; R.I. for eight years and fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 376 I.P.C.; R.I. for seven years and fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 326 I.P.C.; sentenced A4 to undergo R.I. for seven years and fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 307 I.P.C.; sentenced A1 to A3 to undergo R.I. for seven years and fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 307 read with 109 I.P.C.; sentenced A2 to A4 to undergo R.I. for two years and fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 201 I.P.C.; and sentenced A5 to undergo R.I. for three years for the offence under Section 366 I.P.C.; R.I. for one year for the offence under Section 342 I.P.C. and R.I. for five years for the offence under Section 376 read with 109 I.P.C.R. Shanmugasundaram, the learned senior counsel appearing for A1, the Inspector of Police, the appellant in Crl.A.No.765 of 1993 would submit the following contentions, while challenging the conviction imposed on A1:"(1) P.W.1, the prosecutrix was not doing monetarily well.In order to get a job and to get compensation, she falsely implicated the accused, the police personnel by instigating the people to make a public agitation at the instance of the Communist Party.Even before the recording of the statement from the victim, the Collector and Revenue Divisional Officer fixed the police personnel as accused and filed a false complaint in order to satisfy the public.(2) The statements obtained during the enquiry conducted by the R.D.O. from the witnesses and A5 are not admissible in view of Section 4 of the Revenue Enquiry Act.(3) The testimony of P.W.1, the prosecutrix, is full of contradictions and her version is highly improbable, especially when she did not come forward with the said version at the earliest point of time.The scene of occurrence, namely police station is situated in a busy area surrounded with shops, Bank, School, play ground and police residential quarters.Buses will be parked near the road side.In the said situation, it is improbable to contend that she was forcibly abducted and locked in the police station and she cried and banged the door and at that point of time, a gang rape was committed.(4) The material witnesses, viz., father of P.W.1 to whom P.W.1 talked earliest, one Munusamy Achari who had seen that P.W.1 was forcibly dragged away by A5, one Sampathkumar to whom she talked after regained consciousness and D.S.P. and Sub Inspector of Police who had initially investigated the matter, had not been examined.Non-examination of these important witnesses would draw adverse inference against the prosecution.(6) P.W.18 Doctor who examined the victim on 21.7.1988 gave opinion that there is no clinical evidence of rape."The submissions made by Mr. V.Gopinath, the learned senior counsel appearing for A2 to A4, the appellants in Crl.A.No.764 of 1993 are these:"(1) Even according to P.W.1, she did not know A1 to A4 previously.The identification parade was conducted only after 1" months after the discharge from the hospital.Even before P.W.9, the Magistrate in whose presence the parade was conducted, the objection was raised by all the accused that the accused persons were shown to P.W.1 even before the parade and their photos were published in the newspaper.Even according to P.W.1 in her statement before P.W.19, the R.D.O. she was pushed into a storeroom, which was dark.When such was the case, she would not have identified the persons who committed rape.(3) Ex.In Ex.Even though A5 deposed in Tamil, the same was written in English.(4) Even though the bloodstained sample taken from the storeroom was found to be tallied with the blood group of the victim, the samples were not taken in accordance with rules, since the bloodstains were not collected with the help of Scientific Expert.P.W.19, the R.D.O. had not followed the correct procedure in filing the complaint, as he did not adopt the required procedure, while recording the statement from the witnesses.Although P.W.19 stated that he perused the General Diary entry in the police station, the same had not been produced before the Court.(5) The evidence of P.W.18, the Doctor is completely contradictory to the prosecution case.(6) The investigation was conducted by P.W.19 R.D.O. in a hasty manner in order to fix the accused hurriedly in order to overcome the public outcry and law and order problems and as such, the same is faulty."A1 gave the signal to others to go out and so, A2, A3 and A4 went out of the room.(d) Then, A1 forcibly grabbed the body of the victim P.W.1 and began to bite her cheek, forehead and breasts.She regained her consciousness only at the Bangalore Hospital."The above details given in the deposition of P.W.1 would show that she was able to remember only this portion of the occurrence.It is the further case of the prosecution that after a gang rape by A1 to A4, A2 to A4 lifted her body and dropped her into a ditch with a considerable depth and threw the stones on her head.Since P.W.1 lost her consciousness, she was not able to say the other details regarding the lifting of her body from police station and throwing into the pit at the place near to the police station i.e. later portion of the occurrence.Let us now scrutinise, whether the evidence with reference to the first portion of the occurrence relating to rape adduced by P.W.1 is reliable and whether there is any corroboration.23. P.W.1 would state that when she was forcibly pulled by A5 in order to take her to police station, she dropped the kudam there itself.He also saw that the green plastic kudam was found near the bore pump.P.W.5 Nagaraj who is the resident of the same village, who accompanied them to bore pump, also saw the plastic kudam near the bore pump and on seeing that P.W.3 fainted.Strangely, when they came to bore pump next day, they found kudam missing.The evidence of P.W.2 would indicate that P.W.1 was crossing the police station while proceeding towards bore pump at 5.30 p.m. with kudam, and the evidence of P.Ws.3, 4 and 5 would disclose that the said kudam was found lying near the bore pump, when they visited at 10.30 p.m. on the same night.Thus, the evidence of P.W.1 regarding the initial part of the occurrence, has been corroborated by these witnesses.Regarding the rape committed by A1 to A4 inside the storeroom, we have got the evidence of P.W.1 alone.However, the injuries sustained by her at the hands of the accused were noticed by P.W.3 to P.W.6 when the body of P.W.1 was lifted from the pit.As noted above, after searching for P.W.1 in various places, P.W.3 husband of the victim came back to village.Next day at about 11.30 a.m., P.W.3 was informed that P.W.1's body in a semi-naked position was lying down in a pit situated within 75 metre distance from the police station. P.W.3 immediately rushed to the scene along with P.W.4 Sekar, P.W.5 Nagaraj and P.W.6 Ramakrishnan, local residents of Thalli village.All of them would state that she was found lying down in a pit with injuries on the head, hand, legs and other parts of the body.At that time, she was grumbling.P.W.6 Ramakrishnan went immediately to the police station and gave intimation to A3 Writer, who was available then and requested to come to the spot to record statement from her.But, A3 did not care to come and merely asked him to take her to hospital.Then, all of them took her to the hospital at Hosur.P.W.18 Dr.Though she was conscious and able to speak, she did not give out the details about the manner in which she sustained injuries.She found totally 21 injuries.Out of those injuries, injury Nos.2, 3, 4 and 8 are head injuries and injury Nos.14, 15, 16 and 17 are the injuries which were found on hand and fingers.She also found fractures in so many parts of the body.Since her condition was so serious as there are bleeding injuries, she was referred to the Bangalore Hospital on the same day.P.W.16 Dr.Norman who admitted in the Bangalore Hospital at 5.30 p.m. on 21.7.1988 examined the victim.According to P.W.16, he found 21 injuries all over the body.He also gave opinion that some of the injuries are compound fractures.He would state that though the patient was conscious, she was unable to narrate the cause of the injuries.According to him, the injuries on both the hands are grievous in nature.Both these Doctors, viz., P.W.16 and P.W.18 would state that these injuries would have been caused due to bite or caused by a forcible jamming of the doors and the beatings by sticks and the fractures can also be caused by dropping the stones.It is relevant to note that the evidence that P.W.1 was found with injuries on her body and was removed from the pit, as spoken to by P.Ws.3 to 6 has not been challenged by the defence.As per Ex.P3, he removed cement slab along with the bloodstains found in the storeroom and Veranda.As per the Serologist's report Ex.P13, the bloodstain was found to be human blood.It is true that the victim P.W.1 would give statement only on 6.8.1988 alleging gang rape against the accused, even though the occurrence had take place on 20.7.1988and as such, there was a delay for about 15 days.As referred to in the decisions of the Supreme Court, mere delay would not be a ground to reject the prosecution case, particularly in rape cases, since Indian women would be reluctant to report the matter to the police as they would invariably fear for the consequences.According to prosecution, there are two reasons for the delay.The first reason is that P.W.1 lost her consciousness fully at the police station itself on receiving head injury and gained consciousness only in Bangalore Hospital.Though P.W.4 and P.W.5 would state that when she was removed from the pit on 21.7.1988, she grumbled as if some donkeys were responsible for the act, the fact that she was not conscious to speak when she was taken to hospital is mentioned in earlier document, namely Ex.P1, the complaint given by P.W.3 husband to Sub Inspector of Police (Sethu Madhavan) of Thalli Police Station on 21.7.1988 at about 3.30 p.m. In the said complaint, it is specifically stated by P.W.3 that he gave the complaint, since his wife was unable to speak.Even though P.W.18 Doctor would state that she was conscious and answering questions, the Doctor categorically stated in the deposition that P.W.1 did not give the details about the cause for the injuries.At this juncture, it would be worthwhile to refer to the evidence of P.W.17 Dr.Prakash Appaiya, the Head of the Psychiatric Department.He was asked to examine P.W.1.on 22.7.1988 and 23.7.1988 to ascertain as to why she could not explain as to how the injuries were caused.According to him, P.W.1 was suffering from Amnesia and she would not be fit for about 10 days to recollect what happened earlier as there was an apparent loss of memory due to hysterical dissociative reaction.Even in the cross-examination, he would state that the Doctors diagnosed that P.W.1 was suffering from Amnesia and there is no conscious suppression.This evidence would make it clear that even assuming that she stated something while she was removed from the pit or when she was examined by P.W.18 Dr. Padmavathi in Hosur Hospital, that statement could not have been made in a conscious state, since she suffered from Amnesia causing apparent loss of memory for about 10 days.Therefore, the evidence of P.W.4 and P.W.5 regarding the alleged statement of victim with reference to the two donkeys or two legged donkeys, would be of no relevance.With regard to the second reason, namely, fear over the likelihood of desertion by her husband, P.W.3 himself would state that on 4.8.1988 at about 11.30 a.m., she gave a statement to R.D.O.P.W.19 merely mentioning about A5 and not in respect of the main occurrence.After R.D.O. and others left, in the evening, P.W.3, the husband of the victim insisted the victim to tell complete details and only then, the real culprits would be brought into book.He also gave assurance to the victim that she should not be afraid for anything as he would not desert her at any cost and he would take care of her for the entire life.Only after this assurance, P.W.1 gave out the complete details and told P.W.3 and her mother.Then next day, i.e. on 5.8.1988, P.W.3 went to R.D.O. P.W.19 and gave a statement which was recorded by him about what she stated to him.Next day, i.e. on 6.8.1988, P.W.19 R.D.O. came to the Bangalore Hospital and recorded the statement Ex.P56 from the victim P.W.1 who gave full details of the gang rape committed by all the accused (A1 to A4).Hence, both these explanations given by P.W.1 for the delay are acceptable in view of the evidence of P.W.17 Doctor and P.W.3, her husband.(8) She would feel extremely embarrassed in relating the incident to others being overpowered by a feeling of shame.(9) The natural inclination would be to avoid giving publicity to the incident otherwise the family name and family honour will be brought into controversy.(10) The parents of the woman as also the husband and the members of the husband's family would also want to avoid publicity on account of the fear of social stigma on the family name and family honour.P67 would reveal that the Court earlier issued two summons to P.W.1 on 12.9.1988 and 10,10,1988 asking her to appear on 14.10.1988 to participate in the parade.The identification parade was originally fixed at Salem.As per the Doctor's advice, she should not move to other places and she should take rest at home for a period of two weeks from the date of discharge.On that basis, P.W.19 filed an application Ex.The Judicial Magistrate, Hosur, in turn, requested permission through Ex.P8 requisition dated 7.11.1988 from the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Krishnagiri for conducting parade at Hosur.Accordingly, such a permission was granted.Then, J.S.C.M., Palacode (P.W.9) sent a letter Ex.P9 to Superintendent of Jail, Hosur to make necessary arrangements to conduct identification parade on 22.11.1988 within the prison compound.After such arrangements were made, the parade was conducted in the presence of P.W.9, the Judicial Magistrate, Palacode and in the said parade, P.W.1 identified the accused (A1 to A4) correctly on three times.After the parade was over, the accused were questioned by the Judicial Magistrate in regard to the objection, if any.They said that P.W.1 knew them earlier as they were working in the police station; she would have seen their photographs published in the newspaper and that she also saw them when they came and appeared before the Court for the case.They further stated that P.W.1 dressed as a Gosha Muslim girl and came to the Court and saw the accused even before the parade was conducted.All these objections were recorded by the Judicial Magistrate.Ultimately, P.W.9 Magistrate prepared a report Ex.P10 stating that A1 to A4 were correctly identified by P.W.1 on three times in the parade and the accused did not raise any objection with reference to the formalities observed in conducting the parade.While P.W.1 was cross-examined on this aspect, a suggestion was put to her that she came and saw them in the court in the Gosha dress and saw their photos in the newspaper.On going through the report Ex.P10, it is noticed that all the accused would state that P.W.1 knew them earlier as they were working in the local police station of the village.P.W.1 would specifically state that except A5, she did not know the other accused.If really P.W.1 knew them, she could have very well mentioned the same in her statement given to the R.D.O. P.W.19 at the earliest point of time and in that event, there is no necessity for conducting identification parade.But, the consistent stand taken by P.W.1 is that she did not know them.On the other hand, she was able to see one identifiable feature about A1 that he was wearing a square ring with stones.She would also state that she came to know the names of the other accused as the first accused, the Inspector of Police after committing rape, called them by name to come inside and thereafter, all the three persons came one after another and raped her.These materials would show that the procedure for conducting identification parade was correctly followed without any undue delay and P.W.1 was able to establish her version regarding the identity of the persons who committed gang rape on her, by identifying them correctly in the parade conducted by the Judicial Magistrate.The involvement of the police officials in the gang rape has also been established by two other factors.Firstly, there was an initial reluctance in registering the case with reference to the crime even though the victim was found with injuries all over the body in a pit situated at the backyard of the police station.Secondly, despite registration of the case after a considerable delay, no further action was taken by the police to find out the real culprits, which resulted in the public agitation.The body was found lying in a ditch at about 11.00 a.m. next day.P.W.3, the husband, P.W.4, P.W.5, P.W.6, other villagers went to the spot and noticed the victim lying in the pit with a semi nude condition with injuries all over the body.P.W.6 Ramakrishnan, a Teacher working in the Panchayat Union School at Thalli rushed to the police station along with another and complained the matter to the Writer of the police station who was available then.P.W.6 requested him to come to the spot and record the statement of victim, as she is alive and conscious.A3 on hearing this news, exclaimed by asking "Is she alive?" He further stated, "If she is alive, you try to save her by taking to hospital".However, he did not come to the spot.In the statement Ex.P59, P.W.6 would state that one Police Constable Kaveri was sent.But, he simply came to the spot and shouted at the people who gathered there in a vulgar language and did not take any action.This aspect of the evidence adduced by P.W.6 has not been challenged.As a matter of fact, A3 in his statement to the question No.78 admitted that P.W.6 came and informed him about the victim lying in a pit and he asked him to save her life.After enquiry, P.W.19 sent an enquiry report on 1.8.1988 suspecting the involvement of the police officials of Thalli Police Station in the incident and thereafter, on 3.5.1988 under Ex.P53, the Collector directed P.W.19 to initiate enquiry under Clause 145 of the Police Standing Orders.Accordingly, further enquiry was conducted by the R.D.O. and ultimately, after examination of the witnesses including the victim, he sent a report on 6.8.1988 to the Collector fixing the responsibility against four police officials i.e. A1 to A4 through Ex.In the said report, he specifically stated that in spite of the request of the public, the police officers did not care to register a case even though the victim was found with injuries near the police station and the complaint was registered belatedly by the Sub Inspector of Police and even then there was no further action on that for the main reason that police officials themselves are involved.This circumstance also would add strength to the evidence of P.W.1 victim relating to the incident of gang rape in the police station at the relevant time.We will now come to the second portion of the occurrence.According to the prosecution, after the gang rape, she was beaten again and made completely unconscious.Thereafter, she was bodily lifted from the storeroom and taken through the school veranda and dropped her body into the ditch which was at the backyard of school near the police station.Thereafter, the accused Constables threw two stones on her head and left the place.For this part of the incident, there is no direct evidence adduced by the prosecution.However, it is noticed that P.W.1 in Ex.P56, which was recorded on 6.8.1988 by P.W.19 R.D.O., she stated that the Circle Inspector (A1) after committing rape, asked other three police personnel accused to have intercourse with her and thereafter to finish her.Though she could tell in the statement that she remembered that some mud was thrown on her, she did not give the details as to how and by whom she was taken and thrown into a ditch.But, the consistent stand taken by P.W.1 both in her statement made to R.D.O. and in her deposition before the Court that after all the persons committed rape on her, she was beaten by A2 to A4 with heavy object and subsequently, she lost her consciousness and she regained consciousness only in the Bangalore Hospital.Therefore, she would not be able to say regarding the fact that she was thrown into a pit and stones were thrown on her head to kill her.However, the statement Ex.P62 given by A5, the woman Sweeper to P.W.19 R.D.O., while the enquiry was conducted, would give clear picture as to what happened subsequent to the gang rape.This statement was recorded on 20.7.1988 at 5.45 p.m. even before obtaining the statement Ex.According to the statement Ex.P62, after A1, the Inspector of Police left the station, A2 to A4 went inside the storeroom one after another and came back.When A5 asked A3 as to why there was some sound inside the storeroom, A3 told her that the woman had fainted.Thereafter, the accused Constables lifted her and carried her through the school veranda and pushed into a ditch and thereafter, they threw two granite stones on the girl's head.Then, they left the place.After coming back to police station, the mat on which the girl was raped also was torn by A3, the Writer.This statement is an additional corroboration to the statement (Ex.P56) of P.W.1 in which P.W.1 stated that the Inspector of Police asked other Police Constables to have sexual intercourse and then to finish her.This statement cannot be rejected merely because A5 has retracted the same during the course of trial.A5 never stated that she was compelled to give such a statement.She did not dispute her thumb impression in the said statement.As a matter of fact, P.W.19 who speaks about the statement Ex.P62 made before him by A5 had not been cross-examined by A5 at all, though the other witnesses were cross-examined by her counsel.In the said fact situation, there is no difficulty in holding that the statement Ex.Furthermore, the contents of the said extra-judicial confession is in a way corroborated by the evidence of the witnesses P.W.3, P.W.4, P.W.5 and P.W.6 who stated that the body was found lying in the pit and from there, the victim was taken to hospital.In addition to this, P.W.18, the Doctor attached to Hosur Hospital and P.W.16, the Doctor attached to Bangalore Hospital would mention in their certificates Exs.P.50 and 51 respectively that there are several injuries on frontal, parietal and temporal region of the head.They also would state that these injuries on the head would have been caused by throwing the stones on the head.Thus, it is clear from the extra-judicial confession and other materials referred to above that after finishing rape, there was an attempt to commit murder on her.Both the Doctors would state that there was loss of large quantity of blood and if timely treatment had not been given, she would have died.These things would make it clear that there are enough materials to show that the accused Police Constables (A2 to A4) had caused grievous injuries and made attempt to commit murder, thereby to cause disappearance of the evidence.The main thrust of the attack by the senior counsel appearing for the first accused, the Inspector of Police is that the family of P.W.1 was so poor and in her family, P.W.1 alone was doing a temporary job as a Teacher and in order to get permanent job and to get compensation, she falsely implicated A1 and other accused with the help of the Communist Party who were agitating over the lack of interest over the investigation by the police and in order to satisfy the public outcry, the R.D.O. hurriedly fixed the responsibility on the accused police officials.This defence, in my view, is not only artificial but also obnoxious.Though the occurrence had taken place on 20.7.1988, P.W.1 who is the unfortunate victim never said anything initially either with reference to the commission of offences or with regard to the identity of the culprits.Even on 4.8.1988 when she gave first statement to R.D.O., she did not want to tell anything as she was afraid of the consequences, but she merely said that A5 knew everything.P63 and sent it to the Collector, who in turn passed an order directing prosecution.After the launching of the complaint, the articles recovered from the spot were sent for chemical analysis through the Court and identification parade was conducted in pursuance of the order of the Court.Only after collecting all the materials, the matter was committed to Sessions.In the said statement, she did not give the details, since at that time, she was afraid that if details were given, her whole life would be spoiled.However, in the said statement, she mentioned that A5 knew about the occurrence.When P.W.3, the husband found that she was reluctant to tell the truth, she was asked to give entire truth, since he would take care of her and protect her throughout her life.Only on the basis of the words of encouragement by P.W.3, P.W.1 gave out full details in Ex.As noted above, even prior to the recording of this statement, A5 gave the statement Ex.P62 to R.D.O.(P.W.19) which would corroborate the version of P.W.1 that she was locked in a storeroom and in the said room, she was gang raped and the comparison of Ex.This submission also would not impress this Court for the reason that when she was locked in the room, it was only 5.30 p.m. According to the prosecution, the gang rape was committed by one after another between 7.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. P.W.8 mahazar witness would state that in the storeroom, there was a light available.P.W.19 also would state that there were electrical lights available in every room of the police station.P.W.1 has categorically stated in her deposition that there was an electric light burning while the rape was committed.P56, she said that she regained her senses and she felt as if she was in a dark room.She further stated that all the persons one after another came and raped her and she could identify them if she sees them again.They come from an Orthodox family.During the cross-examination, nothing was elicited from them that they were speaking falsehood or they were having any grudge against the police officials.P63 sent by P.W.19 R.D.O. and his deposition made before the Court would clearly indicate that P.W.19 Mr.C. Chandra Mouli, the R.D.O. is a honest and impartial officer who took pains in conducting the enquiry and collecting the statements of the public, even though he was a victim in the attack during the public agitation.His efforts during the course of investigation and in giving full details during the course of deposition would deserve all appreciation from this Court.But for the timely intervention through the Collector's order or through the effective enquiry by P.W.19, a case of gang rape by the police officials at the police station would have been buried.Similarly, the agitation by the public of Thalli village against the police atrocities was also a timely one.Only due to this, P.W.7 Mr.Subba Rao, an elder of the village took up the cause and presented a memorandum to the Collector to take immediate action.Since the sentence imposed upon the appellants (A1 to A4) has been enhanced to life imprisonment, the appellants are directed to surrender before the trial Court or the trial Court is directed to take steps to secure the custody of the appellants/accused to undergo the remaining period of sentence.With these observations, the appeals as well as the revision are disposed of.

Cited provisions: Section 376 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 366 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 326 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 307 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 376(2) in The Indian Penal Code; Section 323 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 342 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 354 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 325 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 201 in The Indian Penal Code; Section 4 in The Indian Penal Code