Facts
The survivor was a 23 year old girl who was gangraped, sodomised, assaulted with an iron rod and thrown out of a moving bus. The Accused were charged under Sections 365,366,307, 376(2)(g), 377, 396,302,395, 201, 412 r/w 397 and 120B IPC.The accused was convicted by the Trial Court and awarded the death penalty. The same was affirmed by the High Court. An appeal was then filed by the accused persons before the Supreme Court appealing the conviction on various grounds including that improvements were made in the survivors statements/dying declarations.
Judgment
The Supreme Court stressed on the need for courts to approach rape cases with utmost sensitivity, examine broader probabilities and not get side tracked by minor contradictions. The Court reiterated the well settled principle that conviction for rape could be based on the sole testimony of the survivor corroborated by medical evidence and other circumstantial evidence such as reports of chemical examination, scientific examination etc., if found natural and trustworthy. But the Court also emphasised that there was no legal compulsion to look for corroboration unless the testimony suffered from serious infirmities. Corroboration was only a guidance of prudence under certain circumstances. The Court noted that minor variations in the testimony of the survivor were often a hallmark of truth of the testimony. The Court also observed that due to the efflux of time, the survivor’s testimony was bound to have minor contradictions/discrepancies. The court upheld the conviction and the death penalty awarded to the accused persons.