Disgraced former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging a sessions court order denying him anticipatory bail in two fresh FIRs involving serious criminal charges against him in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case.
Justice Sabina listed 67-year-old Rathore's petition for hearing tomorrow without giving him any immediate cover against his possible arrest.
The judge had earlier said in court that the matter would be taken up on Wednesday, but posted it for tomorrow after Rathore's lawyer-wife Abha pleaded for an early hearing.
The two fresh FIRs accuse Rathore of committing serious offences including attempt to murder, wrongful confinement, giving false evidence and doctoring the post-mortem report of the girl, who committed suicide 3 years after being molested by the former IPS officer on August 12, 1990.
The trial court had handed down a lighter punishment of six months' jail term and a fine of Rs. 1,000 for molesting the budding tennis player.
Earlier, arguing Rathore's case, Abha alleged in the court that the cases had been registered under media pressure against her husband. She pleaded that the former DGP be granted anticipatory bail as he had undergone a heart surgery in 2007 and had also given the assurance that he would join the investigation.
"We have always maintained that we are ready to join the investigations at any time," she said pleading for interim relief by staying his possible arrest. The judge, however, did not pass any order on her submissions.
During the proceedings, Pankaj Bhardwaj, the counsel for the Girhotra family, strongly objected to the Abha's demand for interim relief. Abha maintained that there was nothing on record to connect Rathore with the cases registered against him allegedly in the wake of a media campaign.
Rathore approached the high court after the additional district and sessions judge of Panchkula in Haryana Sanjiv Jindal last week dismissed his petitions for anticipatory bail.
The judge had also dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of then Assistant Sub-Inspector Sewa Singh who had also moved the applications seeking anticipatory bail following lodging of the two FIRs on December 29.
Ruchika's father Subhash Chander Girhotra and his son Ashu had filed two complaints against Rathore and others in connection with offences like attempt to murder (of Ashu), lodging of false cases, wrongful confinement and fudging of post-mortem report of the girl.
The complaint of Girhotra said the inquest proceedings conducted by the Sector 6 Police Station at the PGI in Chandigarh, where Ruchika was taken after she attempted suicide on December 28, 1993 and died the following day, was without any jurisdiction as the Haryana Police had no locus standi to conduct the proceedings in Chandigarh which is a Union Territory.
The police party from Panchkula in Haryana went to the PGI in Chandigarh and conducted the inquest proceedings and got the post-mortem done. The officials who should be booked include Rathore, the complainant demanded.
