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A couple met each other near a temple where four boys arrived, claiming to be officers of the Forest Department. They demanded INR 10,000 however, the boy only had INR 2000 which he handed to them. Thereafter two individuals forcibly raped the girl while the remaining two restrained her boyfriend.
The Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, recently, held that the commission of an actual sexual act by one accused is sufficient evidence to rope in all the remaining accused for the offence provided there is enough evidence to prove the accused shared a common intention. Such observations were made in a gang rape case, wherein two boys committed the act and the remaining two restrained the victim’s boyfriend.
The bench of Justice GA Sanap held, “The commission of actual sexual act by one of the accused is sufficient to rope in the remaining accused in the offence of gang rape, provided there is material to show that they shared a common intention”.
The two accused individuals approached the High Court seeking to overturn the conviction on the grounds that the pieces of evidence were insufficient to prove their guilt.
The two accused boys, represented by Advocates Y. B. Mandape and A. C. Jaltare, argued inconsistencies in the victim's testimony regarding the sexual assault by the two accused. They noted discrepancies between her oral evidence and the DNA report. During court identification, the victim attributed the assault to two boys but failed to identify the third one during the parade. These inconsistencies, they argued, undermined her testimony.
The court noted that the crime committed was severe. The victim was raped by two accused in the presence of her boyfriend, who was overpowered by the remaining two accused. The DNA report was the most critical corroborative piece of evidence to explain any discrepancy. If Sandip had not committed sexual assault, his semen would not have been found on the victim's salwar kurta. Thus, this evidence was crucial in connecting Sandip to the rape along with Shubham.
Overall, the court held that the oral and documentary evidence, supported by the DNA report and the testimonies of independent witnesses, was sufficient to prove the incident and the involvement of the accused.
Accordingly, the court disposed of the petition of the accused noting that the evidence against them sufficiently proved that the two accused committed the offence.
Case Title: Sandip v State of Maharashtra
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