PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR.versusSTATE OF HARYANA

                    [2011] 10 S.C.R. 27


            PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR.                            A
                               V.
                    STATE OF HARYANA
              (Criminal Appeal No. 91 of 2007)
                        JULY 7, 2011
                                                                   B
 [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN AND SWATANTER KUMAR, JJ.]

     Penal Code, 1860 - ss.376(2)(g) and 366 - Gang-rape
pursuant to kidnapping - Testimony of prosecutrix - Three
accused 'D', 'P' and 'H' - Trial court convicted all the accused   C
- Conviction upheld by High Court - All three accused filed
appeals before Supreme Court - Appeal of 'D' dismissed in
/imine - 'P' died - Appeal therefore survived only qua 'H' -
Held: No reason to disbelieve the version of prosecutrix -
Statement of prosecutrix before the Court fully supported by       D
other prosecution witnesses and even the medical evidence
on record - Medical evidence clearly showed that the
prosecutrix had suffered injuries during the alleged incident
- Doctor also stated that there was a possibility of intercourse
having taken place with the prosecutrix on the alleged date        E
of rape - Involvement of 'H' in the entire chain of events was
material and as per the prosecutrix he had also raped her -
According to the doctor, he was capable of performing sexual
intercourse - The entire evidence and the attendant
circumstances point towards the guilt of the accused -             F
Concurrent finding of conviction against the accused was
based upon proper appreciation of evidence - Conviction of
'H' upheld.
     Evidence - Appreciation of - Held: The evidence must
be viewed collectively - Statement of a witness must be read G
as a whole - Reliance on a mere line in the statement of the
witness, out of context, would not serve the ends ofjustice and
the conclusion of the Court based on such appreciation of
evidence could be faulted.
                               27                               H
    28       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2011] 10 S.C.R.


A         Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s.154 - FIR - Case
    of gang rape - Apathy in the functioning of the investigating
    agencies - Prosecutrix and her father were made to run from
    pillar to post by the police authorities, before their case could
    be registered - Held: The father of the prosecutrix, surely
B   must have felt trauma and frustration - In terms of the
    provisions of s. 154, CrPC, it is obligatory for the police to
    register a case when the facts constituting a cognizable
    offence are brought to its notice. .

      The three accused, namely 'D', 'P' and 'H' were
C charged under Sections 366 and 376(2)(g) of the IPC. The
  prosecution case was that 'D' took the prosecutrix PW4
  in his arms while 'P' gagged her mouth with his hand
  whereafter PW4 was lifted and dragged into car and
  subsequently raped by all. the accused. The trial court
D held all the three accused guilty of the offences of
  kidnapping and gang rape of PW4. The conviction was
  upheld by the High Court.

      All the accused filed appeals before this Court.
E During pendency of the appeal, 'P' expired. The appeal
    of 'D' was dismissed in limine. Thus, the instant appeal
    survived only qua 'H'.

         Dismissing the appeal, the Court

F      HELD: 1. The argument of the appellant, that there
  was hardly any evidence directly involving the accused
  'P' in the commission of the crime, cannot be accepted.
  Firstly, the prosecutrix when examined as PW4 stated in
  Court that the appellant 'H' was driving the car in which
G she was kidnapped and subsequently taken to the
  jungle. Her version is also supported by her father, PW7,
  though, of course, PW7 was not an eye - witness to the
  occurrence. There is no reason for this Court to
  disbelieve the version given by the prosecutrix. [Para 7]
H [38-B-D]
        PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                  29
                      HARYANA
          2. Though some contradictions were pointed out A
     between the statements of the prosecution witnesses,
     the trial court rightly observed that these discrepancies,
     viewed from any angle, were not significant. PW4 did
     deny some portion of her statement Ex.DA, particularly,
     that she was raped in the car one after the other by all B
     the three accused. However, this statement does not find
     support from any of the prosecution witnesses or from
     the investigation of the Investigating Officer. Thus, this
     contradiction does not render the statement of the
     prosecutrix unreliable or untrustworthy. [Para 7) [38-D-F] c

          3. Significantly, the accused •o•; in his statement
     under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. has not chosen to say
     that none of the other two accused, namely, 'H' and the
     deceased 'P', were present at the time of the occurrence
     or that they have been falsely implicated on account of 0
     some land dispute, as referred to by the other two
     accused in their statements under Section 313 of the
     Cr.P.C. [Para 8) [38-G]
          4. As per the medical evidence of PW5 "abrasions E
     which were brownish in colour with clothes, blood on
     right shin anteriorly, clotted dry blood sticking from the
     abrasions described above (sic) 3 cm. below right knee
     joint" were found on the person of the prosecutrix. There
     was also abrasion on right side of cheek, 5 cm brownish F
     in colour and the prosecutrix complained of pain on the
     right side of her neck. In her cross - examination, the
     duration of injury no.1 was stated to be more than 24
     hours and it was also stated that the injury no.1 could be
     result of a fall while the injury no. 2 cannot be self inflicted. G
     This medical evidence clearly shows that she had
     suffered injuries during the alleged incident and she was
     taken for medical examination by the Investigating Officer
     after expiry of 24 hours. PW-6 had examined the appellant
                                                                      H




,.
    30      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011] 10 S.C.R.


A   - accused 'H' and found him fit to perform sexual
    intercourse.[Para 9] [38-H; 39-A-C]

        5. X - ray examination of PW-4 was conducted and
    according to the report, Ex.PS, PW4 was aged more than
8   18 years. After examining the forensic reports, Exs.PH
    and PJ, from the Forensic Science Laboratory, the doctor
    also stated that there was a possibility of intercourse
    having taken place with PW4 on the alleged date of rape.
    [Para 10] [39-D-E]

C         6. There are certain significant averments which
    show the manner in which the offence was committed.
    Firstly, PW4 has stated that the car was being driven by
    'P'. Secondly, that she was wearing same clothes at the
    time of her medical examination which she was wearing
D at the time of rape. Her salwar was blood - stained. These
    clothes were taken into custody by the doctor herself,
    who subsequently handed over the same to the
    Investigating agency. Similarly, the father of the
    prosecutrix, PW7, has specifically stated that his
E daughter had told him that 'D' had caught hold of her and
    dragged her to the car, her mouth was gagged by 'P' and
    still there was another person with small pox marks on
    his face who was driving the car. About the identity of 'P',
    it is clear that PW7 had known him for the last 10 years
F as he had settled in the Village. In other words, there
    could hardly be any dispute with regard to the identity of
   the person accused. But for the contribution made by the
    present accused, 'H' who was driving the car and had
   taken away the prosecutrix to the jungle/fields, probably
G the Incident could have been avoided. Thus, it is clear that
  · involvement of the present accused 'H' In the entire chain
   of events was material and as per the prosecutrix he had
   also raped her. According to the doctor, he was capable
    of performing sexual intercourse. This entire evidence
H
  PREM PRAKASH@ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF             31
               HARYANA
and the attendant circumstances point towards the guilt A
of the accused. [Para 11) [39-E-H; 40-A-C]
    7. The appellant had placed emphasis on the fact that
the doctor had opined that the prosecutrix was
accustomed to sexual intercourse and that there was no
                                                           8
sign of fresh intercourse. But this argument has rightly
been rejected by the High Court by noticing that there was
no fresh intercourse but she had been subjected to
intercourse more than 24 hours ago. The doctor had
examined PW4 on the third day after the alleged date of C
rape. Thus, the statement of the doctor has to be read and
understood in that background and the doctor also
specifically stated, that there was a possibility that she
was subjected to intercourse on the date of alleged rape.
[Para 12) [40-D-E]
                                                          D
     8. The evidence, essentially, must be viewed
collectively. The stat~ment of a witness must be read as
a whole. Reliance on a mere line in the statement of the
witness, out of context, would not serve the ends of
justice and the conclusion of the Court based on such E
appreciation of evidence could be faulted. Another
aspect of this case which has specifically not been
noticed by the High Court, is that the prosecutrix and her
father were made to run from pillar to post by the police
authorities, before their case could be registered. The F
prosecutrix, PW4, has specifically stated that report made
by her father was not recorded by the police and the next
day they went to Jhajjar along with her mother and
appeared before the police officers but again, no action
was taken. According to her, the application which she G
had given in the Tehsil office was thumb marked by her.
The father of the prosecutrix stated that he had even
convened a panchayat of the brotherhood but the
panchayat having failed to arrive at a decision, he had
proceeded to the police station along with his daughter
                                                           H
    32      SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2011) 10 S.C.R.


A   and his report was not recorded at the police station by
    the police. He returned to the village and again went to
    the Jhajjar Sub Division Headquarter and met the DSP
    a11d narrated the entire occurrence to him. But still no
    action was taken and then they claim to have gone to the
B   SOM, Jhajjar and made a complaint in writing. Thereafter,
    his daughter was medically examined and subsequently,
    the case was registered. This event certainly describes
    and points towards the apathy in the functioning of
    investigating agencies in heinous crimes, to which the
c   complainant was subjected. In terms of the provisions of
    Section 154, Cr.P.C., it is obligatory for the police to
    register a case when the facts constituting a cognizable
    offence are brought to its notice. The father of the girl,
    surely must have felt trauma and frustration when he was
0   subjected to the above treatment, besides the knowledge
    of his daughter's rape by the accused. [Para 13) [40-F-H;
    41-A-E]
       9. The appellant had also ~ried to rely upon some
  contradictions and embellishments in the statements of
E the prosecutrix and her father. The Court cannot ignore
  the fact that the prosecutrix cannot be expected to make
  a perfect statement after a lapse of time without even a
  normal variance. Furthermore, she had specifically stated
  that, the statements recorded by the appellants were not
F read over to her nor were any thumb impressions taken
  for the same. In fact, she had given an application to the
  tehsil office which was thumb marked and even that
  complaint had not been produced in evidence before the
  Court by the prosecution. These are the lacunae and
G impropriety committed by the investigating agency itself.
  Thus, no burden or fault could be shifted to the
  prosecutrix. Her statement before the Court is fully
  supported by other prosecution witnesses and even the
  medical evidence produced on record. There is .a
H concurrent finding of conviction against the accused,
   PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                    33
                 HARYANA
which is based upon proper appreciation of evidence. No             A
reason for interference by this Court. [Para 14) [41-F-H;
42-A-B]
    CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 91 of 2007.
                                                                    B
    From the Judgment & Order dated 27.7.2005 of the High
Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Criminal Appeal
No. 290-SB of 1992.
     Dinesh Chander Yadav, Vibhuti Sushant Gupta, (for Dr.          C
Kailash Chand) for the Appellants.
    Rajeev Gaur 'Naseem', (for Kamal Mohan Gupta) for the
Respondent.
    The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
                                                                    D
     SWATANTER KUMAR, J. 1. Three accused, namely
Dharambir @ Pappu, Prem Prakash @ Lillu and Herchand @
Poley, were charged for an offence punishable under Sections
366 and 376(2)(g) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the
'IPC'). Upon trial, the learned Additional Sessions Judge,          E
Rohtak, by judgment and order dated 31st July, 1992 held all
the three accused guilty of the offences of kidnapping and gang
rape of Kumari Sudesh and, thus, they were sentenced to
undergo rigorous imprisonment of 1.0 years with a fine of
Rs.500/- each. In case of default of payment of fine, they were     F
ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period
of one month. The accused were also awarded two years'
rigorous imprisonment each for the offence committed under
Section 366 of the IPC. Both the substantial sentences were
ordered to run concurrently. Dissatisfied with.the judgment of      G
the trial court, the accused preferred an appeal before the High
Court. The High Court found no merit in the appeal and
consequently, dismissed the same vide its judgment dated 27th
July, 2005, giving rise to the present appeal by all the accused.

     2. The learned counsel for the appellants pointed out that     H
    34       SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011] 10 S.C.R.


A during the pendency of the appeal before this Court, one of the
  accused, i.e., Prem Prakash@ Lillu had expired and therefore,
  the present appeal survives only qua the third accused, i.e.
  Herchand @ Poley. In so far as the appeal by the accused
  Dharambir @ Pappu is concerned, the same was dismissed
B in limine. The brief facts in the present case are that the
  aforesaid three accused were asked to face trial on the
  aforestated charges based on the case of the prosecution.
  According to the prosecution, Kumari Sudesh, daughter of
  Pratap Singh, resident of Village Chhuchhak accompanied by
c her brother Satish, aged about 5 years, had gone out of her
  house at about 8-9 p.m. on 25th July, 1990 to ease herself at
  a distance of about two or three kil/as away from their house
  and by the side of a nearby pucca road. After she answered
  the call of nature and washed herself a car approached her from
0 behind and stopped beside her. The accused Dharambir got
  down and took her in his arms. The accused Poley followed
  him and gagged her mouth with his hand. She was lifted and
  dragged into the car. The car was being driven by the accused
  Lillu. The car was taken beyond tht.. village abadi, across a
E petrol pump and into the fields by the side of the road. All the
  three accused raped Kumari Sudesh one by one in that field.
  Accused Dharambir was left there and the other two took the
  prosecutrix in the car to an unknown jungle and kept her there
  for that night and the following afternoon. She was again raped
  by these two accused in that jungle. At about 4.00 p.m. on 26th
F July, 1990, she was dropped on the bridge of a canal, at a
  distance of about one kilometer from her house and was
  threatened of being kidnapped, raped and killed if she narrated
  the occurrence to anybody. She reached home and recounted
  the incident to her father Pratap. A panchayat of the
G brotherhood was convened but no decision was arrived at. On
  the next day, the father of the prosecutrix went to the Police
  Station Beri with her, to lodge a complaint. However, their
  request for registration of a case was not entertained. On 27th
  July, 1990, they went to Jhajjar Sub Divisional Headquarter and
H approached the Deputy Superintendent of Police but to no
    PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                      35
        HARYANA [SWATANTER KUMAR, J.]
  avail. Thereafter, they approached the Sub Divisional                A
  Magistrate (in short the 'SDM') with a written application dated
  28th July, 1990, Ex.PE/1, to get the prosecutrix medically
  examined and for taking action against the culprits. The SDM
  referred the matter to the incharge of the hospital at Jhajjar and
  a lady doctor, Dr. A.K. Bhutani, examined the prosecutrix and        B
  prepared her report, Ex.PE. The clothes of the prosecutrix were
  also taken by the doctor, who later on handed over the same
, to the police, who in turn transferred them for examination by
• the PSL. It is stated that while Pratap Singh was again going
  towards the police station,· on the way at the bus stand of          C
  Village Jahagarh, he met a police party and Assistant Sub
  Inspector Hawa Singh recorded his statement, Ex.P0/1 and an
  F.l.R., Ex.P0/2 dated 28th July, 1990, was registered.

      4. In brief, the prosecution had examined a number of
witnesses including PW1, Dr. R.B.S. Jakhar, who had medically          D
examined the accused Dharambir and had opined that he was
fit to commit sexual intercourse. PW2 was the police officer
incharge of the Police Station and he presented the original
challan before the Court. The prosecutrix was examined as
PW4 and her father Pratap Singh was examined as PW?.                   E
Besides this, the lady doctor who had examined the
prosecutrix, was PW5, Dr. A.P. Sharma, who had medically
examined the other two appellants was PW6, SI Hawa Singh,
who was the Investigating Officer was examined as PW8. The
prosecution, on the basis of these witnesses attempted to bring        F
home the guilt of the accused.

      5. In the statements made under Section 313 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, (for short 'Cr.P.C.'), the accused Prem
Prakash and Herchand stated that all witnesses were false.
They denied the incident in its entirety and took a specific stand     G
that Pratap Singh, father of Kumari Sudesh was carrying on
cultivation on the land belonging to the family of the accused
and since he had stopped them from carrying on the agricultural
activity, Pratap Singh had developed animosity towards them.
                                                                       H
    36       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2011) 10 S.C.R.


A      6. However, in his statement under Section 313 of the
  Cr.P.C., the accused Dharambir offered no explanation and
  also chose not to lead any defence. The trial court vide its
  detailed judgment found that the accused were guilty of the
  offence with which they were charged. The accused had further
s raised a defence on behalf of Prem Prakash, that he was not
  named in the FIR and has been falsely implicated. It was also
  contended that the prosecutrix was more than 19 years of age
  and in fact there was no reliable evidence to convict the
  accused and there were contradictions in the case of the
C prosecution. The trial court dealt with these two issues as
  follows: -

         "23. Then I have been pointed out some points of
         contradictions in the statements of the witnesses. The first
         point of contradiction is as to who was driving the car. In
D        the F.l.R. which was recorded on the basis of statement
         of Partap, it isstated that Poley was driving the car.
         Otherwise both the father and the daughter are consistent
         in stating that it was the third ac6used (Lilu) who was
         driving the said car. The police had not been co-operating
E        with the prosecutrix. It has been discussed above. Hence
         may be that the police deliberately recorded wrongly that
         Poley, in place of Lilu, was driving the car. Otherwise too,
         the version given by Partap, was given to him by the
         prosecutrix, and may be that on this point Partap made
F        wrong statement. This contradiction cannot affect the
         merits of the case. The second point of contradiction is with
         regard to the timing of the kidnapping. P.W.4 Smt. Sudesh
         in the court stated that she had been kidnapped at about
         8.00/9.00 A.M. and otherwise the case of the prosecution
G        throughout is that she was kidnapped at 8.00 or 9.00 P.M.
         If the prosecution story is read as a whole and if the
         statement of this witness is also read keeping in view to
         the sequence of the happenings, it shall be clear that she
         was kidnapped at 8.00 or 9.00 P.M. and not at 8.00/9.00
         A.M. It is only a clerical or typical (sic) mistake that the time
H
PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                   37
    HARYANA [SWATANTER KUMAR, J.]
 has been written as A.M., in place of P.M. So, it is not a A
 contradiction.

 xxx xxx xxx
 31. On the basis of this medical evidence it has been
 argued that this lady was habitual to sexual intercourse and B
 since there was no injury found on her private part, so it
 may be held that it is a case ofconsent and she being of
 more than 18 years of age was an equal party to the sexual
 intercourse and, therefore, even if it assumed that the
 accused have committed sexual intercourse with this lady, C
 they cannot be said to have committed any offence. The
 learned counsel for the accused has placed reliance on
 Sukhjit Singh vs. The State of Haryana, 1987 (i) R.C.R.
 352. That was a case where two real brothers were alleged
 to have committed rape on a lady. No injury was found on D
 the person of that lady. It was reported that she was used
 to sexual intercourse. It was held that probably it was a
 case of consent.

 xxx xxx xxx                                                   E
 39. Lastly argument has been advanced on behalf of
 accused Lilu. He was not named in the F.l.R. How and
 when he came into picture 7 (sic). The F.l.R. was recorded
 on 28.7.90. The police resorted to the supplementary
 statement of the prosecutrix of her father just the next day, F
 i.e. 29. 7.1990 and these statements were to the effect that
 two accused, other than Dharmabir, were innocent. This
 way Lilu was not arrested by the police. Two months after,
 as stated by the prosecutrix, she had identified him in the
 street when she was coming along with her father. Then G
 her father had told that the name of this accused was Lilu.
 This way Lilu came into picture in the case of the
 prosecution. Since the police has submitted the challan
 only against one person, so: Lilu could be named only
 be(sic) the prosecutrix in the court itself. It cannot be said H
    38       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2011) 10 S.C.R.


A        that Lilu had not been identified so his name being named
         in the court for the first time by the prosecutrix would create
         any doubt in the truthfulness of the case of the complainant
         that Lilu was also one of the persons who kidnapped and
         raped her."
B
          7. The main argument on behalf of the appellant, while
    challenging the above findings, is that there is hardly any
    evidence directly involving the accused Prem Prakash @ Lillu
    in the commission of the crime. This argument does not
    impress us. Firstly, the prosecutrix when examined as PW4
c   stated in Court that the appellant was driving the car in which
    she was kidnapped and subsequently taken to the jungle. Her
    version is also supported by her father Pratap Singh, PW7,
    though, of course, Pratap Singh was not an eyewitness to the
    occurrence. There is no reason for this Court to disbelieve the
D   version given by the prosecutrix. Some contradictions have
    been pointed out between the statements of the prosecution
    witnesses. The trial court has rightly observed that these are
    some discrepancies which, viewed from any angle, are not
    significant. It is also on record that PW4 did deny some portion
E   of her statement Ex.DA, particularly, that she was raped in the
    car one after the other by all the three accused. This statement
    does not find support from any of the prosecution witnesses
    or from the investigation of the Investigating Officer. Thus, this
    contradiction does not render the statement of the prosecutrix
F   unreliable or untrustworthy.

        8. Another important aspect of the case is that the
    accused Dharambir, in his statement under Section 313 of the
    Cr.P.C. has not chosen to say that none of the other two
    accused, namely, the appellant herein and the deceased Prem
G · Prakash, were present at the time of the occurrence or that they
    have been falsely implicated on account of some land dispute,
    as referred to by the other two accused in their statements
    under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C.

H        9. As per the medical evidence of PW5, Dr. A.K. Bhutani,
  PREM PRAKASH @ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                        39
      HARYANA [SWATANTER KUMAR, J.]
"abrasions which were brownish in colour with clothes, blood           A
on right shin anteriorly, clotted dry blood sticking from the
abrasions described above (sic) 3 cm. below right knee joint"
were found on the person of the prosecutrix. There was also
abrasion on right side of cheek, 5 cm brownish in colour and
the prosecutrix complained of pain on the right side of her neck.      B
In her cross-examination, the duration of injury no.1 was stated
to be more than 24 hours and it was also stated that the injury
no.1 could be result of a fall while the injury no. 2 cannot be self
inflicted. This medical evidence clearly shows that she had
suffered injuries during the alleged incident and she was taken        c
for medical examination by the Investigating Officer after expiry
of 24 hours. Dr.A.P. Sharma had examined the appellant-
accused Herchand and found him fit to perform sexual
intercourse.

     10. The doctor also stated that she had conducted X-ray           D
examination of Kumari Sudesh and according to report, Ex.PS,
Sudesh was aged more than 18 years. After examining the
forensic reports, Exs.PH and PJ, from the Forensic Science
Laboratory, the doctor also stated that there was a possibility
of intercourse having taken place with Sudesh on 25th July,            E
1990.

     11. There are certain significant averments which show the
manner in which the offence was committed. Firstly, she has
stated that the car was being driven by Prem Prakash @ Lillu.          F
Secondly, that she was wearing same clothes at the time of her
medical examination which she was wearing at the time of rape.
Her salwar was blood-stained. These clothes were taken into
custody by the doctor herself, who subsequently handed over
the same to the investigating agency. Similarly, the father of the     G
prosecutrix, PW7, has specifically stated that his daughter had
told him that Dharambir had caught hold of her and dragged
her to the car, her mouth was gagged by Poley and still there
was another person with small pox marks on his face who was
driving the car. About the identity of Lillu @ Prem Prakash, it
                                                                       H
    40      SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2011] 10 S.C.R.


A is clear that PW? had known him for the last 10 years as he
  had settled in the Village. In other words, there could hardly be
  any dispute with regard to the identity of the person accused.
  But for the contribution made by the present accused, who was
  driving the car and had taken away the prosecutrix to the jungle/
B fields, probably the incident could have been avoided. Thus, it
  is clear that involvement of the present accused in the entire
  chain of events was material and as per the prosecutrix he had
  also raped her. According to the doctor, he was capable of
  performing sexual intercourse. This entire evidence and the
c attendant circumstances point towards the guilt of the accused.

       12. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant had
  placed emphasis on the fact that the doctor had opined· that
  the prosecutrix was accustomed to sexual intercourse and that
  there was no sign of fresh intercourse. This argument has rightly
D been rejected by the High Court by noticing that there was no
  fresh intercourse but she had been subjected to intercourse
  more than 24 hours ago. The doctor had examined her on 27th
  July, 1990 while the incident took place on 25th July, 199'0.
  Thus, the statement of the doctor has to be read and understood
E in that background and the doctor also specifically stated, that
  there was a possibility that she was subjected to intercourse
  on 25th July, 1990.

       13. The evidence, essentially, must be viewed collectively.
F The statement of a witness must be read as a whole. Reliance
  on a mere line in the statement of the witness, out of context,
  would not serve the ends of justice and the conclusion of the
  Court based on such appreciation of evidence could be faulted.
  Another aspect of this case which has specifically not been
G noticed by the High Court, is that the prosecutrix and her father
  were made to run from pillar to post by the police authorities,
  before their case could be registered. The prosecutrix, PW4,
  has specifically stated that report made by her father was not
  recorded by the police and the next day they went to Jhajjar
H along with her mother and appeared before the police officers
   PREM PRAKASH@ LILLU & ANR. v. STATE OF                    41
       HARYANA [SWATANTER KUMAR, J.]
but again, no action was taken. According to her, the application A
which she had given in the Tehsil office was thumb marked by
her. Pratap Singh, father of the prosecutrix, stated that he had
even convened a panchayat of the brotherhood but the
panchayat having failed to arrive at a decision, he had
proceeded to the police station along with his daughter and his B
report was not recorded at the police station by the police. He
returned to the village and again went to the Jhajjar Sub
Divisions Headquarter and met the DSP and narrated the
entire occurrence to him. But still no action was taken and then
they claim to have gone to the SOM, Jhajjar and made a c
complaint in writing. Thereafter, his daughter was medically
examined and subsequently, the case was registered. This
event certainly describes and points towards the apathy in the
functioning of investigating agencies in heinous crimes, to
which the complainant was subjected. In terms of the provisions 0
of Section 154, Cr.P .C., it is obligatory for the police to register
a case when the facts constituting a cognizable offence are
brought to its notice. The father of the girl, surely must have felt
trauma and frustration when he was subjected to the above
treatment, besides the knowledge of his daughter's raped by E
the accused. We do express a pious hope, that such
occurrences will not be repeated in any police station in the
country.

     14. The counsel for the appellant had also tried to rely upon
some contradictions and embellishments in the statements of F
the prosecutrix and her father. Reference was made to exhibits
01 and PO in this regard. The Court cannot ignore the fact that
the prosecutrix cannot be expected to make a perfect
statement after a lapse of time without even a normal variance.
Furthermore, she had specifically stated that, the statements G
recorded by the appellants were not read over to her nor were
any thumb impressions taken for the same. In fact, she had
given an application to the tehsil office which was thumb
marked and even that complaint had not been produced in
                                                                   H
    42       SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2011) 10 S.C.R.


A   evidence before the Court by the prosecution. These are the
    lacunae and impropriety committed by the investigating agency
    itself. Thus, no burden or fault could be shifted to the
    prosecutrix. Her statement before the Court is fully .supported
    by other prosecution witnesses and even the -medical evidence
8   produced on record. There is a concurrent finding of convietion
    against the accused, which is based upon proper appreciation
    of evidence. We see no reason to interfere.

         15. Consequently, the appeal is dismissed.
c   8.8.8.                                     Appeal dismissed.