Bilaspur: Reaffirming the evidentiary value of a rape survivor’s testimony, the Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday upheld the conviction of a man for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a minor, stating that “conviction of the accused could be based on sole testimony, without corroboration.”
In Criminal Appeal No. 1724 of 2023, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal partly allowed the appeal filed by Rajelal Meravi (27), a resident of village Singbora, district Khairagarh-Chuikhadan-Gandai. While the Court upheld the conviction, it modified the sentence of life imprisonment (meaning imprisonment for the remainder of natural life) to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Background of the Case
On the night of 11 November 2021, the victim—a girl aged 13 years, 8 months and 23 days—was playing outside her house when she was allegedly abducted by the appellant. According to the prosecution, Rajelal gagged the girl with a scarf and forcibly took her to his house where he raped her twice.
The victim was found the next morning at the accused’s house, frightened and crying. Her father (Prosecution Witness-5) filed an FIR at Salhewara Police Station, and an investigation followed under Sections 342, 363, 376 IPC and Sections 3/4 of the POCSO Act.
The Special Upper Sessions Judge, Khairagarh, convicted Rajelal Meravi on 22 June 2023 in Special Sessions Case No. 35/2021, sentencing him to:
- 1 year RI under Section 342 IPC
- 7 years RI under Section 363 IPC
- Life imprisonment under Section 3/4 of POCSO Act
All sentences were to run concurrently.
Legal Arguments
Appearing for the appellant, Mr. Amit Buxy, argued that the trial court had erred in relying solely on the victim’s testimony and that there were contradictions and omissions in the statements of prosecution witnesses. He contended that the medical examination did not confirm forcible intercourse, and there was no ossification test to confirm the victim’s age.
Mr. Nitansh Jaiswal, Panel Lawyer for the State, submitted that the Admission-Discharge Register (Exhibit P/22C) of the government school, corroborated by the Headmaster (PW-9), confirmed the victim’s age. He also relied on the consistent testimony of the victim (PW-2), her mother (PW-1), and father (PW-5) to argue that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Observations of the Court
The Bench held that the trial court rightly believed the school admission record and corroborative oral testimonies which established the age of the victim as below 16 years.
Regarding the sole reliance on the victim’s testimony, the Court extensively cited Supreme Court precedents including State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh [(1996) 2 SCC 384] and Ganesan v. State [(2020) 10 SCC 573], holding:
“Conviction of the accused could be based on the sole testimony of the victim/prosecutrix when the deposition of the victim is found to be trustworthy, unblemished, credible and her evidence is of sterling quality.”
“Seeking corroboration of her statement before relying upon the same, as a rule, in such cases amounts to adding insult to injury.”
While the medical officer, Dr. Shweta Koumarya (PW-12), noted the absence of visible injuries, the Court reiterated that lack of physical injury is not decisive where the testimony of the prosecutrix is reliable.
Decision
The Court affirmed that Rajelal Meravi had abducted the minor girl and committed penetrative sexual assault. It upheld his conviction under all charges but modified the life imprisonment to 20 years rigorous imprisonment, citing proportionality of punishment.
The Court concluded:
“The prosecution has succeeded in proving its case beyond all reasonable doubts against the appellant.”
Final Order:
- Conviction upheld under Sections 342, 363 IPC and Section 3/4 POCSO Act.
- Life imprisonment modified to 20 years rigorous imprisonment.
- Fine and default sentence maintained.
