Chandigarh:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on the plea of disgraced former Director General of Police SPS Rathore for anticipatory bail till January 18, Monday next.
There will be no interim relief for Rathore till then. The High Court has also asked the CBI to file any objections it has on January 18.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the court had agreed to grant adequate time to Rathore's counsel to argue his petition seeking anticipatory bail in two fresh FIRs leveling serious criminal charges against him in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case.
Appearing for Rathore, whose petition challenges a Panchkula session court order denying him anticipatory bail, his lawyer-wife Abha submitted before the court that she needed sufficient time to present her case and that the matter could not be wound up in a short duration.
"I require time at length to argue my case," Abha submitted before Justice Sabina when the 67-year-old former IPS officer's case came up for hearing.
Granting her plea, Justice Sabina posted the petition for hearing later in the day.
While Rathore was not present in the court, the lawyer for Ruchika Girhotra's family, Pankaj Bhardwaj, and Panchkula Superintendent of Police Manish Chaudhary were seated in the court room.
The two fresh FIRs, registered on the basis of complaints by Ruchika's father S C Girhotra and brother Ashu, 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 to Rathore for molesting the budding tennis player.
Arguing Rathore's case, Abha alleged in the High Court on Monday that the cases had been registered under media pressure against her husband.