INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY - AUGUST - 2007
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ORAL TESTIMONY SUFFICIENT FOR CONVICTION IN RAPE CASE, RULES SUPREME COURT

TAKING serious note of the heinous incidents of rape, the Supreme Court has ruled that cogent, reliable and trustworthy oral testimony of the victims is sufficient for conviction. It does not need medical corroboration, said apex court rejecting the plea that gynaecologist report does not disclose any evidence of sexual assault.

A bench comprising Justice RV Raveendran and Justice LS Panta said, "the plea that no marks of injuries were found either on the person of the accused or the person of the prosecutrix (rape victim), does not lead to any inference that the accused has not committed forcible sexual intercourse on the prosecutrix.

"Though, the report of the gynaecologist pertaining to the medical examination of the prosecutrix does not disclose any evidence of sexual intercourse, yet even in the absence of any corroboration of medical evidence, the oral testimony of the prosecutrix, which is found to be cogent, reliable, convincing and trustworthy has to be accepted" said court.

According to the ruling, the oral testimony of the victim should be given preference over medical report which depends upon various circumstances. For example, in the present case, the court zeroed in on the factors affecting such medical report.

The observance came in an appeal filed by a rape accused, B C Deva. In 1991, the victim, working in Athoor Coffee Estate, Karnataka was waylaid by one of the co-workers at the estate during lunch hours.

The accused had allegedly dragged the victim inside the coffee garden and sexually assaulted her, then ran away from the spot of occurrence. According to the report submitted by the prosecution, the victim decided to commit suicide fearing social disgrace and jumped into a nearby water tank located in the Coffee Estate. However, she was saved. Accordingly, a report was lodged and she was sent for medical examination.

The defence had taken refuge of the medical examination in which the clothes of the victim were not found with traces of semen.