Ruchika case: HC slams Haryana for dropping charges against Rathore

“How did you exonerate him (Rathore) from the charges when you did not have the jurisdiction to do so? When you admitted he was a Central government employee you had no jurisdiction to drop proceedings against him. You should have forwarded the case to the Centre,” a visibly astonished Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal told the Haryana law officer.

Dumbfounded with the query,the law officer sought time to respond and verify the facts. “This matter deserves attention in public interest. A complaint cannot disappear. This is the matter we need to look into,” Justice Mudgal said.

The Chief Justice reacted strongly when Abha Rathore,wife of S P S Rathore,claimed her husband was a victim.

“We are not sure if he is a victim. We will reserve our comments on that. You can call him a respondent or an accused,” he said.

The case has been adjourned for four weeks and the court has directed the Haryana government to explain how Rathore was exonerated when he was admittedly a Central government employee and was on deputation.

Haryana pleads for dismissal of PIL

Meanwhile,in a reply filed by the Haryana government,the state sought the dismissal of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the World Human Rights Protection Council demanding action against Rathore and Sacred Heart School.

To a reply filed by Shrikant Walgad,Special Secretary to state of Haryana,the Home Department,Haryana,has sought dismissal of the PIL terming it “infructuous” in the wake of the three FIRs registered against Rathore in January this year by the Panchkula police.

No record of FIR with Haryana

Interestingly,the Haryana government has no official record of any complaint filed by the family members of Ruchika Girhotra in 1990. The state has submitted that the official record of 1990 has been “destroyed”.

The High Court had asked the state to explain non-registration of an FIR against Rathore.

Stating that no official record was available to corroborate whether any complaint was received,the reply reads,“Panchkula was created in 1995. Earlier it was part of Ambala district”.

It further submitted that relevant record of 1990 has been destroyed. The reason given was “records were allowed to be destroyed as per provisions of DDR (Daily Diary Report)”.

Police officers says he received complaints

However,statement of the then inspector Anil Dhawan,posted in Panchkula in 1990,has been annexed. The statement assumes significance since Dhawan submitted that he had received a complaint from Anand Prakash on August 18,1990,with regard to molestation of Ruchika by Rathore.

In his statement,Dhawan has stated he was on duty on August 16,1990,when he received a message on his wireless,of people raising slogans against Rathore. Dhawan has submitted that when he reached the Haryana Law Tennis Association (HLTA),Rathore along with the manager of HLTA complained that few youngsters had misbehaved with them and damaged the furniture of HLTA. Dhawan has further submitted that he had informed about both the complaints to his seniors.

The statement assumes significance as it clearly establishes that the Haryana Police were aware of the incident yet did not take immediate action.

Meanwhile,Abha Rathore in her detailed reply continued to blame the media,Anand Prakash and his family members for registering false cases against Rathore.