Haryana in HC: Ashu not juvenile at time of arrest

The Haryana government has apprised the Punjab and Haryana High Court that Ashu Girhotra,brother of Ruchika,was not a juvenile at the time of his arrest by the Haryana Police,allegedly at the behest of former DGP S P S Rathore.

Haryana government counsel Ranjan Lakhanpal submitted this in a reply during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the World Human Rights Protection Council. The petitioner had claimed that Ashu was a juvenile at the time of arrest on October 25,1993 and had been illegally detained in the police station.

A Division Bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh had put a query to the state to explain as to what was the age of Ashu at the time of his arrest and if he was a juvenile why proceedings should not be initiated against the police officers concerned. In its detailed reply,the state has submitted that Ashus age was above 20 years and provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act were not applicable to him.