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3. After returning home, the victim was questioned as to how she had become pregnant; however, owing to intellectual disability, she was unable to respond. On 11.10.2021, the victim was taken to the Government Medical Hospital, Nagpur and was admitted on 12.10.2021. The complainant thereafter lodged a report stating that some unknown person, to satisfy his lust, had sexually assaulted her daughter, as a result of which she had become five months pregnant. The doctors advised termination of pregnancy, and consequently, the report came to be lodged.

11. Per contra, Mrs. Sonia Thakur, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State supported the impugned judgment and order of conviction and submitted that the learned Sessions Judge has rightly appreciated the oral and documentary evidence on record. It was contended that the victim is a woman suffering from severe intellectual disability and physical impairment, and the medical evidence, particularly the testimony of PW-12, conclusively establishes that the victim was having 75% intellectual disability and was incapable of understanding the nature and consequences of the sexual act or of giving valid consent. The learned Addl.P.P. submitted that the delay in recording the statement of the victim stands duly explained in view of her medical condition, mental trauma, and prolonged hospitalization, and the same does not, in any manner, affect the credibility of her testimony. It was further argued that the victim has consistently and unequivocally identified the appellant as the perpetrator by referring to him as "Motu", and her testimony stands fully corroborated by the evidence of PW-1, PW-3, and other prosecution witnesses, leaving no scope for doubt. The learned Addl.P.P. submitted that merely because 7 apeal-654-2023.odt the spot panch witnesses turned hostile, the prosecution case cannot be disbelieved, particularly when the spot panchanama stands proved through the evidence of the Investigating Officer. It was further contended that the DNA report is a clinching piece of evidence which clearly establishes that the appellant is the biological father of the fetus, and the prosecution has duly proved the collection, sealing, and forwarding of samples, thereby ruling out any possibility of tampering. According to the learned Addl.P.P., there is no evidence on record to suggest any motive for false implication of the appellant, and the defence of land dispute is wholly bald and unsubstantiated. It was, therefore, submitted that the offence being grave and against the societal conscience, no interference is warranted in the well-reasoned judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the trial Court.

22. At the outset, the foundational facts, namely the victim's pregnancy, her severe intellectual disability, termination of pregnancy, and preservation of biological samples, stand firmly established through unimpeached medical evidence. The testimony of PW-1, the mother of the victim, inspires confidence and establishes the sequence of events leading to discovery of the offence. Merely because the initial report was lodged against an unknown person does not render the prosecution case doubtful. It is well settled that in cases involving victims with intellectual disability, delayed disclosure or initial inability to name the assailant is a natural human conduct and cannot be construed as a circumstance fatal to the prosecution.

29. The psychiatric evidence of PW-12 further seals the issue. The disability certificate, issued much prior to the incident, conclusively proves that the victim was suffering from 75% severe intellectual disability. The expert opinion that such a person is incapable of giving informed consent brings the case squarely within the aggravated form of rape under Section 376(2)(j)(l) of the IPC. The contention that the certificate does not mention exact IQ level is of no consequence, as the statutory requirement is the existence of intellectual disability, not numerical precision.