Parminder @ Ladka Pola vs State Of Delhi

Opposite to their house was the house of Sardar Jagir Singh. Babbo, daughter of Sardar Jagir Singh, was her friend and she used to visit the house of Sardar Jagir Singh to meet Babbo. On 28.01.2001 at about 8.30 p.m., the lights in the area went off and as the generator at the house of Sardar Jagir Singh was on, the prosecutrix went to meet Babbo. She enquired from the appellant, the son of Sardar Jagir Singh, as to whether Babbo was in the house and the appellant told her that Babbo was inside the room. When she entered inside the room, the appellant followed her into the room, bolted the room from inside and forcibly put her on the cot. When she raised an alarm, the appellant slapped her. He then took out her salwar and underwear and raped her. He also threatened her with death if she narrated the incident to anybody. Out of fear and shame, she did not narrate the incident to anybody, but in the evening of 30.01.2001 she narrated the incident to her mother.

3. On this statement of the girl (hereinafter referred to as ‘the prosecutrix’), a case under Sections 376 and 506, IPC, was registered on 30.01.2001. The prosecutrix was medically examined on the same night. On examination of the X-rays report of the prosecutrix, the doctor opined that her age was above fourteen years but below sixteen years. Her clothes and vaginal swab were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (for short ‘CFSL’) for analysis and as per the report from CFSL, human semen and blood was detected on the underwear of the prosecutrix, but no semen was detected in the vaginal swab. After investigation, a charge-sheet was filed against the appellant under Sections 342/354/376/506, IPC. Charges, however, were framed only under Sections 376 and 506, IPC, and as the appellant pleaded not guilty, the trial was conducted. At the trial, as many as fifteen witnesses were examined on behalf of the prosecution including the prosecutrix. After considering the evidence on record, the trial court convicted the appellant under Sections 376 and 506, IPC. For the offence under Section 376, IPC, the trial court imposed the minimum sentence of seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default, rigorous imprisonment for one year and for the offence under Section 506, IPC, the trial court imposed a sentence of two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.5,000/- and in default, a rigorous imprisonment of six months. The trial court further directed that the sentences were to run concurrently. Aggrieved, the appellant filed Criminal Appeal No.696 of 2002 in the High Court, but by the impugned judgment the High Court has dismissed the appeal.

16. It is, therefore, clear that what is adequate and special would depend upon several factors and on the facts of each case and no straitjacket formula has been laid down by this Court. The legislature, however, requires the Court to record the adequate and special reasons in any given case where the punishment less than the minimum sentence of seven years is to be imposed. The conduct of the accused at the time of commission of the offence of rape, age of the prosecutrix and the consequences of rape on the prosecutrix are some of the relevant factors which the Court should consider while considering the question of reducing the sentence to less than the minimum sentence. In the facts of the present case, we find that the prosecutrix was a student of eighth class and was about 14 years on 28.01.2001 and she was of a tender age. She had gone to the house of the appellant looking for her friend Babbo, the sister of the appellant. When she asked the appellant as to where the sister of the accused was, he told her that she was in the room and when she went inside the room, he followed her into the room, bolted the room from inside and forcibly put her on the cot. The appellant then took out the salwar and the underwear of the prosecutrix and raped her. As a result of this incident, her parents stopped her from going to the school and asked her to study eighth class privately. Considering the age of the prosecutrix, the conduct of the appellant and the consequences of the rape on the prosecutrix, we do not think that there are adequate and special reasons in this case to reduce the sentence to less than the minimum sentence under Section 376(1), IPC.

17. In the result, we do not find any merit in this appeal and we accordingly dismiss the same.