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Deepak v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 65 of 2012)Decided 10 Mar 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 65 of 2012
Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

A young, illiterate girl of about 16 years and 3 months, living with her family in Panipat, was raped by a neighbour's son (the appellant) who had allegedly been harassing her and threatened her with photographs and recorded conversations if she disclosed the assault. She confided in her mother about two weeks after the incident, who promptly lodged a police complaint, leading to an FIR, charge-sheet, and trial. The Sessions Court convicted the appellant under Section 376 IPC (sentencing him to 7 years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine) while acquitting a co-accused of conspiracy; the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld this conviction, prompting the present appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court rejected all three of the appellant's arguments. First, it held the roughly two-week delay in lodging the FIR was natural and well-explained, given the social stigma around sexual offences and the accused's threats using photos/recordings: delay alone does not discredit a prosecutrix's testimony, especially where the investigating agency's own lapses (failing to seize the photos/recordings) cannot be held against her. Second, invoking the statutory presumption against consent under Section 114-A of the Indian Evidence Act, the Court held that once sexual intercourse was proved and the prosecutrix testified she did not consent, the burden shifted to the accused to rebut this presumption, which he failed to do, so the "consent" defence failed despite the prosecutrix being over 16. Third, the Court found the prosecutrix's testimony reliable, truthful, and corroborated by medical evidence, warranting no interference with the conviction, and declined to reduce the sentence since 7 years was already the mandatory minimum for the offence as it then stood. The appeal was dismissed, the appellant's bail was cancelled, and he was directed to surrender to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Lesson Learnt

In rape prosecutions, a delay in reporting the offence, especially by a young victim fearing social stigma or threats, does not by itself undermine the credibility of her testimony, and once sexual intercourse is established, the law presumes absence of consent unless the accused can rebut it with credible evidence; mere assertion of consent is not enough.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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