Chandigarh:
SPS Rathore, who retired as Haryana's most-senior policeman, is entitled to his pension for now, according to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Rathore was convicted in 2010 of molesting a teen girl, Ruchika Girhotra, in Panchkula near Chandigarh in 1990. Three years later, she committed suicide, allegedly because after she filed a police complaint against him, Mr Rathore persecuted her family relentlessly.
Mr Rathore has appealed against his conviction in the Supreme Court. Till a verdict is delivered there, the High Court said today, Mr Rathore cannot be stopped from collecting his pension, which had been stopped by the central government after his conviction.
Largely because of Mr Rathore's powerful position - he was Director General of the Haryana Police - the case against him made no progress - he was convicted 20 years after Ms Girhotra had filed a complaint.
Mr Rathore was sentenced first to six months in prison - the smile on his face as he left court incensed the public and legal experts. His sentence was later increased to 18 months in prison in May 2010 by a local court in Chandigarh. But he was granted bail by the Supreme Court after five months.
Earlier this year, he made the headlines again when he bought a Mercedes for 30 lakhs as a gift for his wife, Abha, who defended him in court during his trial. He then spent another nine lakhs to get a VIP license plate for the new car.
In June, the CBI closed two other cases filed against Mr Rathore by Ms Girhotra's family - the agency said there was no evidence to prove that her brother was arrested and tortured in custody on Mr Rathore's orders, or that the policeman had doctored her post-mortem results. Ms Girhotra's father said he was too tired to continue a legal battle against Mr Rathore.