PRAHLAD SINGH versus STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

Citation: [1997] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 427 · Decided: 13-08-1997 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: G.N. RAY · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

PRAHLAD SINGH 
v. 
STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH 
AUGUST 13, 1997 
[G.N. RAY AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.] 
Criminal Law-Indian Penal Code--S. 376-Rape of a minor girl-Ac-
quittal by Sessions Court-Reversed by High Court-Held, the High Court can 
A 
B 
not inteifere on mere ·sunnises and conjectures unless there is an acceptable C 
evidence-Conviction set aside. 
The Appellant was charged for an offence of committing rape of a 
minor girl. The Sessions Court relying on the evidence of the Doctor, the 
victim and her parents, though held that the victim had been raped on the 
said date, yet could not find any reliable evidence as regards the involve- D 
ment of the Appellant and acquitted him. On Appeal by the prosecution, 
the High Court reversed the finding and convicted the Appellant, relying 
upon the _evidence of the victim. 
Before this Court, the Appellant contended that there is no iota of 
acceptable evidence before the court which can be said to have brought E 
home the charge against the Appellants; that the High Court committed 
an error in altering an order of acquittal to one of conviction by mere 
surmises and conjectures; that so far as the identification parade was 
concerned no credence can be given to the same in as much as the same 
parade was held two months after the incident; that the accused was shown F 
to the prosecutrix earlier to the identification in question; and that the 
substantive evidence of the prosecutrix in court identifying the accused is 
of no relevance and is wholly unacceptable and no conviction can be based 
on the same. 
The Respondents contended that the accused being an army jawan G 
and a colleague of the father of the prosecutrix and that she was sexually 
assaulted by the accused, there was no reason for her to unnecessarily 
involve an innocent man and that since the fact of rape had been estab-
lished beyond reasonable doubt the High Court rightly convicted the 
Appellant. 
H 
427 
428 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997) SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 
A 
Allowing the Appeal, the Court 
HELD : 1. The High Court interfered with an order of acquittal on 
mere surmises and conjectures without having an iota of acceptable 
evidence bringing complicity of the accused and as such the said conviction 
and sentence cannot be sustained in law. The conviction and sentence 
B passed by the High Court is set aside and Appellant is acquitted of the 
charges. [431-B-C] 
2. The contentions of the Respondents cannot be accepted since until 
and unless there is reliable and acceptable evidence to come to a con-
C clusion that it is accused who committed rape he cannot be convicted even 
if the factum of rape on the prosecutrix is established beyond reasonable 
doubt. [431-A] 
3. No credence can be given to the identification said to have been 
made since none of the identification parade witnesses were examined. 
D 
[430-CJ 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 
51of1993. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 7.9.92 of the Madhya Pradesh 
E High Court in Crl.A. No. 34 of 1986. 
F 
Manoj Prasad for the Appellant. 
K.N. Shukla, Mrs. Shushila Shukla and Uma Nath Singh for the 
Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
PATTANAIK, J. This appeal is directed against the judgment of the 
Madhya Pradesh High Court dated 7th September, 1992 in Criminal Ap-
peal No. 34 of 1986. The High Court by the impugned judgment set aside 
G the order of acquittal of the appellant passed by the 2nd Additional 
Sessions Judge, Sagar (MP), in Sessions Trial No. 185 of 1984 and con-
victed the appellant under Section 376 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo 
rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. 
The appellant stood charged of the offence of committing rape on 
H the allegation that on 26th May, 1984 he committed rape on a minor girl 
PRAHLAD SINGH v. STATE [PATTANAIK, J.) 
429 
Kumari Sarvesh, PW-5 when the girl was playing outside her house in the A 
company of her two younger sisters. The prosecution alleged that while the 
prosecutrix PW-5 was playing, the appellant induced her and then took her 
outside the military camp and subjected her to sexual assault on account 
of which the girl started profusely bleeding. Her father, Siyaram. PW-9 
went in search of the girl and found her stilnding on the road and crying, B 
as the accused had left her near that place. The girl then narrated the 
incident to her father who lodged a report which was treated as F.l.R. and 
police thereafter started investigation. The furthe

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