Bombay High Court Upholds Conviction Of “Mantrik” For Rape Of Six-Year-Old Girl Who Died After Pretend Exorcism

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday upheld a man's conviction for raping a six-year-old child under the pretext of exorcising and driving out evil spirit from her. The girl passed away after this incident.

Justice Abhay S Waghwase of the Aurangabad bench observed that there was sufficient eyewitness testimony to establish the rape charge despite there being no medical evidence as her family performed her last rites without medical examination.

“merely absence of medical evidence, is no good ground to discard the direct and ocular evidence of parents coupled with evidence of an independent witness regarding rape. Law does not make it imperative for prosecution to corroborate its case by adducing medical evidence. When direct evidence inspires confidence, case of prosecution can still be accepted. Here is a case of such nature where parents and independent witness, who have seen the incident, have narrated the occurrence while in witness box. Their testimonies have not been rendered doubtful. Hence, even in absence of medical evidence, case of prosecution can safely said to be inspiring confidence and can be readily accepted.”

The court dismissed the appeal of one Bhaulal Reswal against sessions court judgment dated October 21, 2002 convicting him under section 376 of IPC. The HC judgment does not mention the sentence awarded by sessions court to the appellant, and this information is not available online. The appellant's as well as complainant's counsels refused to share it when Live Law contacted them.

The girl fell ill, and despite medical treatment, her condition did not improve. Her father's brother advised him to bring an occultist to treat her. The appellant, claiming himself to be a Mantrik, assured the family of treating the girl for a fee of Rs. 250. Under the pretext of exorcising evil spirit, he raped the child.

The girl's condition worsened, and she passed away while being taken to her native place. The parents performed her last rites, and later her father came back to Aurangabad and lodged a complaint, leading to the registration of a case against the appellant.

The II Additional Ad-hoc Sessions Judge, Aurangabad convicted the appellant under sections 376 (rape) of the IPC but acquitted him of offence under section 302 (punishment for murder).

The appellant challenged the conviction primarily on the grounds of inordinate delay in lodging the FIR, lack of medical evidence supporting the rape charge, false implication, and inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses.

The court examined the evidence and found the testimonies of the victim's parents and an independent witness to be credible and consistent. They all corroborated the incident, stating that they witnessed the accused raping the victim through gaps in the door and walls of their temporary dwelling.

The court noted that the informant is illiterate and when realized that his daughter had passed away while en route to their native place, he proceeded to perform her last rites. Thus, there was no medical examination and consequently no supportive medical evidence to corroborate the allegations of rape.

Despite the absence of medical evidence, the court emphasized that direct evidence, particularly eyewitness testimony, held significant weight in establishing the guilt of the accused.

Regarding the delay in filing the FIR, the court acknowledged the circumstances faced by the victim's father, who was from another district and working as a watchman. The court considered his actions, including performing last rituals for his deceased daughter, as understandable given his situation, thus justifying the delay in lodging the complaint.

The court dismissed the appeal, upholding the conviction of the accused under Section 376 of the IPC.

Case no. – Criminal Appeal No. 673 of 2002

Case Title – Bhaulal S/o. Dokraji Reswal v. State of Maharashtra

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