Jharkhand High Court upholds gang rape conviction

The Jharkhand High Court has upheld the gang rape conviction of four men, ruling that several factors raised by the defense did not discredit the victim’s testimony. A Division Bench consisting of Justice Ananda Sen and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava described the prosecutrix as an “absolutely reliable and trustworthy” witness.

The court rejected arguments regarding a three-day delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR), the inability of the victim to initially identify the accused by name, and the non-detection of sperm during a medical examination conducted 72 hours after the incident. The bench noted that the victim’s account was corroborated by physical injuries found on her body.

The incident occurred on November 5, 2013, when the victim was intercepted while traveling between her matrimonial and parental homes. Following a village Panchayat where the accused failed to appear, a formal complaint was lodged on November 8, 2013. The appellants had previously been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 40,000 each by an Additional Sessions Judge in Jamshedpur.