Dismissed

Virendra Lodhi v. State of U.P. and Another

Allahabad HC22 Jul 2021CRLA/2405/2020

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This court dismissed a criminal appeal challenging the rejection of bail under Sections 376 IPC and 3(2)V SC/ST Act. The court held that the victim's confession retains sanctity despite the absence of independent witnesses and found no illegality in the lower court's order.

What did the court decide?

Criminal Appeal dismissed; Bail Application of Appellant rejected; Trial directed to be expedited.

Virendra Lodhi Vs State of U.P. and Another — Criminal Trial and Appeal | Allahabad HC (2021)

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Court No. - 74

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Case :- CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 2405 of 2020 Appellant :- Virendra Lodhi Respondent :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Appellant :- Manvendra Singh Counsel for Respondent :- G.A.

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Hon'ble Pradeep Kumar Srivastava,J.

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Heard learned counsel for the appellant, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

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This criminal appeal has been filed by the appellant Virendra Lodhi with a prayer to set aside the judgment and order dated 13.08.2019, passed by Exclusive Special Judge SC/ST (P.A.) Act / Additional Sessions Judge, Fatehpur, in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 1288 of 2019, arising out of Case Crime No. 3 of 2019, under Sections 376, 323, 504 I.P.C. and Section 3(2)V SC/ST Act, Police Station Hussainganj, District Fatehpur.

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The first information report version is that on the date and time of incident when the victim was returning to village, on the way, the accused -appellant met who gave her lift on his cycle. But when they reached to the place of occurrence, the accused appellant started forcefully abusing her and dragged her in Babool tree and committed rape on her. She came back to her house and narrated the whole incident. The police was approached on 17.08.2018 but the report was not lodged. On 18.08.2018, a registered information was sent to the S.P., Fatehpur but when nothing was happened, the application was given to the Magistrate under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. and by order of Magistrate, the first information report was lodged.

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The statement of the victim was recorded by the I.O. and further, it was recorded before the Magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C. and in both her statements, she narrated the same version and stated that the accused-appellant has committed

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rape on her. This fact also found support by the statement of her husband and other family members.

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Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that the accused-appellant has been falsely implicated in the present case. Submission is that the incident took place at 07:00 P.M. in the month of August near the road and should have been seen by anyone but there is no independent witness of the offence. Further submission is that one first information report was lodged in the year 2014 making allegation against one Ram Chandra that he committed rape on his wife. The victim side who was relative of the said Ram Chandra and out of the alleged enmity, the false first information report has been made on totally baseless ground. Except the statement of the victim, there is no other evidence and nothing has been found during medical examination. the learned court below after being influenced by the facts that the victim belong to the SC caste community and, therefore, rejected the bail application of the appellant. The submission of the learned counsel for the appellant is that the accused-appellant has no criminal history and the court below has illegally rejected the bail application of the appellant. Hence, the impugned order is liable to be set aside and the accused-appellant is entitled to be enlarged on bail.

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Learned A.G.A. has opposed the prayer and has submitted that there is categorically accusation made by the victim against the appellant, both in first information report and in her statement. In the statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. also, she has narrated whole story. What she told to her husband and her brother-in-law (Devar), the same thing has been narrated by both of them to the police. It has been submitted that it is a single act of sexual abuse and rape and there is least possibility of falsity in such kind of situation. There is no illegality and

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infirmity in the order of the learned court below and the present appeal is liable to be dismissed.

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Considered the submissions of both the sides and perused the record, it appears that when the first information report was not lodged by the police, the victim approached to the Magistrate under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C., she has narrated the incident of rape on her by the accused-appellant in the first information report, then in her statement given to the I.O. and lastly in her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C. The other witnesses who were toled by her about the incident also narrated the same story.

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Rape is not an act which can be committed in the view of public and if there is no independent witness it is not render the allegations made by the victim false. The statement of the effected party in rape case has been given weight and sanctity under law and as such, I find no illegality or infirmity in the order of the learned court below and in view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, I find no force in the appeal and the same is liable to be dismissed.

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Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed and the bail application of the accused-appellant is rejected .

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However, the learned court below is directed to expedite the trial and dispose of the case expeditiously, preferably within a period of one year from the date of production of certified copy of this order.

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Order Date :- 22.7.2021 sailesh

Virendra Lodhi v. State of U.P. and Another

Case brief

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Virendra Lodhi v. State of U.P. and Another

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