SUNNAVAR V STATE OF UP (UNNNAO RAPE CASE)
MOHD. AKHTAR V STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR (KATHUA RAPE CASE)
Unnao rape case:
- The bench: Anil Kumar Srivastava-II
- The Defendant/ Appellant: Sunnavar, Lala, Kallo and Faridi (accused)
- The Plaintiff/ Respondent: State of Uttar Pradesh
Issue:
Whether Sunnavaris liable for the charges framed against him under Section 363, 366 and 367 of the Indian Penal code for kidnapping and raping a woman, Lala for kidnapping under Section 368 and; Kallo and Faridi under Section 363 and 366 of IPC.
The contentions:
Defendant-All the four accused denied all the charges against them and requested for a trial in a statement given by them under Section 313 of CrPC. Lala also submitted that there is no such evidence against him to be framed under Sec 368 of IPC.
Plaintiff-The accused Sunnavar, neiceKallo and brother Faridi kidnapped the victim when she went out at 4 AM to attend natures call. The victim’s statement said that they kidnapped her and kept her at Lala’s house where she was brutally raped by Sunnavar. The police recovered the victim along with Sunnavar and Lala by Lucknow bypass.
Final Judgement-
The court acquitted the accused Kallo and Faridi as there was no sufficient evidence to prove them guilty under the charges. The court held Sunnavar guilty of kidnapping and rape under Section 363, 366 and 367. Also, Lala was held guilty under Sction 368 by the court. The trial courts ruling were overturned and both Sunnavar and Lala were acquitted of all the charges as there was no evidence of rape or kidnapping and the court found sufficient evidence to support that the victim ran away with him by consent.
Kathua rape case:
The bench: The Chief Justice, Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Indu Malhotra
The Defendant/ Appellant: Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria(nephew), Parvesh Kumar, Special officer Surinder Kumar, Head constable Tilak Raj, Sub-inspector Anand Dutta and Vishal Jangotra (Sanji Ram’s son)
The Plaintiff/ Respondent: State of Jammu and Kashmir
Issue:
Whether Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar can be held liable for rape and muder of an 8 year old girl? Also, Surinder Kumar, Tilak Raj and Anand Dutta are guilty for destructing and manipulating essential evidences or not?
The contentions-
Defendant- The accused deny all the charges against them and submitted a request for a fair and free trial. The primary accused, Sanji Ram also appealed for clearing all the charges against his son Vishal, as he was present in Meerut at the time of incident.
Plaintiff- On direction of Sanji Ram (local leader of district Kathua), nephew Deepak Khajuria along with his friend Parvesh Kumar (Mannu) kidnapped and abducted an 8 year girl of Bakkarwal community for settling the grudge between the communities. The girl was grazing her horses in the field where Deepak and Mannu kidnapped her and held her in a cowshed ofDevisthan (Temple in Kathua) where she was raped several times. Vishal, Sanji Ram’s son also came to Kathua and raped her several times. SI Anand Dutta, Head-constable Tilak Raj and SO Surinder Kumar accepted a bribery of 3 lakhs for destroying evidence and tampering investigation. On the fourth day, Parvesh and Deepak killed her by hitting stones at her head twice.
Final Judgement-
The court held Sanji Ram, Parvesh Kumar and Deepak Khajuria guilty for rape and abduction of an 8 year old girl under Section 120B, 376 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced a lifetime imprisonment for all the 3 accused. Deepak Khajuria was held liable for causing grevious hurt and confinement without will under Section 363, 343 and 201 of IPC also. SI Anand Dutta, Head-constable Tilak Raj and SO Surinder Kumar were also held liable for disappearance of evidence under Section 201 and punished for 5 years in jail. Whereas, Vishal was acquitted from all the charges against him.
