A sessions court here on Thursday deferred to May 25 its verdict on a plea for enhancing the sentence to the former Haryana police chief, S.P.S. Rathore, in the 1990 molestation case.
Judgment lengthy
Additional district and sessions judge Gurbir Singh, who heard the arguments continuously for eight days, said the judgment was lengthy and the verdict was being postponed by five days to provide himself time to complete the process of writing it.
On May 11, the judge had fixed Thursday for the verdict on the three pleas — one by the former DGP challenging the award of six months' rigorous imprisonment for “outraging the modesty” of a 14-year-old tennis player (who subsequently committed suicide), and two appeals by the victim's family and the CBI seeking enhancement of the trial court sentence.
Mr. Rathore was granted bail immediately after the CBI special court sentenced him to six-month RI and fined him Rs. 1,000.
On Thursday, father of the victim, who was present in the court, said: “We have been waiting for the day of verdict for over 20 years, and a few days' delay wouldn't disappoint us. Justice will be done and Rathore will be punished.”
He expressed the hope that it would be a historic verdict, addressing his daughter's sufferings and Mr. Rathore's atrocities.
‘He deserves no mercy'
Anand Parkash, main complainant in the case, said: “We are expecting maximum jail term for Rathore. He deserves no mercy from any quarter and we have full belief in the judiciary.”
