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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court recently observed that a woman or a girl who has been raped is not an accomplice in the crime and to insist for corroboration of her testimony amounts to an insult to womanhood.

The bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra opined that the evidence of a victim of sex offence is entitled to great weight, even if there is absence of corroboration. An accused can be convicted on the basis of sole testimony of prosecutrix without any further corroboration provided the evidence of the prosecutrix inspires confidence and appears to be natural and truthful, said the single judge bench.

To reach its conclusion, court referred to a catena of judgments of the Supreme Court wherein the top court has held that in a case of rape, the testimony of the prosecutrix stands at par with that of an injured witness.

The high court was dealing with a criminal appeal filed by the convict in a 2001 rape case. The man had been convicted by the trial court for charges under Sections 376, 342, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

The contention raised by the counsel for the convict was that the trial court had convicted him while ignoring the infirmities pointed out by the accused side in the statement of prosecution witnesses.

The counsel argued that the prosecution version and statement of the victim, who was allegedly 15 years of age at the time of the incident, did not find corroboration from the medico-legal examination report of the prosecutrix.

However, while rejecting the contention raised by the defence lawyer that no injury was found by the doctor on the person of the victim, court stressed that the Apex Court has already clarified that even where no external or internal marks of injury on the private part of the victim of rape are found in medical examination, the testimony of the prosecutrix that she was raped by the accused cannot be discarded.

In view of the above, court held that the decision of the trial court was without any error and accordingly, rejected the appeal against conviction. 

Case Title: Raje @ Rajesh @ Santosh Kumar v. State of UP