The bail plea of former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, convicted in the 1990 molestation case, was heard in city session court on Monday. Rathore had appealed against his conviction in the case.
The former DGP was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a CBI court on Dec 22, 2009 for molesting a budding tennis player 1990, who committed suicide three years later in 1993. The hearing will be on a day-to-day basis and is expected to be complete by Saturday.
Rathore's petition has challenged his conviction in the molestation case and the pleas by the CBI and the victim's family seeking enhancement of his six-month prison term.
“Mrs Abha Rathore again submitted before the Court that it was a case of media hype. She termed Rathore as a victim of rivalry in the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (of which he was a senior functionary in the 1990s). She contended that he did not have any political clout in 1990 as he was posted on deputation,” Victim's family lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj told reporters outside the Court, where media is not allowed.
Sixty-eight-year-old Rathore, his counsel wife Abha Rathore and another counsel ND Sharma were present in the Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Gurbir Singh. The ADSJ had on the last hearing on April 16 directed that the three petitions filed by Rathore, CBI and victims's family and friends will be heard on day-to-day basis from third May to 8th May without any adjournments.
A special CBI court held Rathore guilty in December last year of molesting a 15-year-old budding tennis player in Panchkula town in August 1990, who committed suicide three years later. He was sentenced to six months' rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs.1000. However, he was immediately granted bail.
The verdict termed as 'too little, too late ' resulted in a nation wide protest which eventually led to the filing of two fresh complaints against Rathore accusing him of attempt to murder, wrongful confinement and forging of the post-mortem report of the victim.
