Rathore's lawyer-wife Abha Rathore had filed the review petition on his behalf in the high court on May 26 seeking bail, a day after he was sentenced and lodged in the high-security Burail jail.
Disgraced former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, undergoing 18 months' imprisonment for molesting Ruchika Girhotra, will have to remain behind bars as the Punjab and Haryana high court today denied him relief saying that he had been found guilty of an "odious offence".
Vacation judge justice Ajay Tewari fixed June 29 for hearing, before an "appropriate" bench, the revision petition filed by 68-year-old Rathore for suspension of the sentence and his bail plea.
The judge noted that normally where the sentence is up to three years, bail should be granted liberally since long pendency of the appeal/revision may result in the convict having completed the jail term.
"In a case like the present, where the accused has been found guilty of a particularly odious offence, this rule can be departed from," the judge observed.
He, however, held that in order to safeguard the right of the accused, hearing on the main petition must be expedited.
With the judge fixing June 29 for hearing arguments on the revision petition filed on Rathore's behalf by his lawyer-wife Abha, the former top cop will have to remain behind bars as his bail plea is also pending.
The judge admitted the revision petition of Rathore for suspension of sentence but held that "even though a detailed
analysis of the merits is not necessary yet a broad brush overview of the facts would be required for the purpose of deciding an application under section 389/397 CrPC (for suspension of sentence in a revision petition, release of appellant on bail)."
Hours after the 15-page court order, Abha, in a last ditch effort to secure the release of her husband on bail, submitted that he was unwell but the court categorically told her that the matter has been fixed for June 29.
Apart from Abha, her sister Neerja, CBI counsel Ajay Kaushik, Anand Parkash and Madhu Parkash, parents of Ruchika's
friend Aradhana- the complainant in the case, S C Girhotra,
father of Ruchika, and a battery of media persons were among
those present in the courtroom.
Hailing the order, Anand Parkash and his wife Madhu, who fought the two-decade-long legal battle, told reporters outside the court premises that "the verdict has proved that a man may be at any high position, but he can not influence the judgment."
Girhotra, father of Ruchika who had committed suicide three years after her molestation on August 12, 1990, said that he was satisfied with what the court had observed.
Abha had filed the review petition on his behalf in the high court on May 26 seeking bail, a day after he was sentenced and lodged in the high-security Burail jail here.
She stood stunned when the judge observed that "the application for suspension of sentence is adjourned to June 29 so that in case the main petition is not heard due to any circumstances beyond the control of the applicant then the present prayer can be pressed."
The judge also summoned the entire record pertaining to the case by a special messenger.
Earlier, justice Tewari said that the facts in a nutshell are that Rathore was accused of molesting Ruchika on August 12, 1990 in the office of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (HLTA) of which Rathore was the president.
The judge noted that since Ruchika could not bring herself to tell his father what had happened Girhotra sent her to the mother of her friend since her own mother had died prior, thinking that it might be easier for the complainant to tell a lady.
The then DGP after an inquiry had given a report where he had held Rathore guilty and recommended registration of a criminal case, the judge observed.
A session's court had on May 25 enhanced Rathore's jail term from six months to one-and-a-half years while allowing the plea of CBI and the Girhotra family.
Rathore was jailed after a session's court had enhanced his prison term to 18 months for molesting teenager 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, a budding tennis player.
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