Another high court bench opts out of Ruchika case

The infamous Ruchika molestation case in which former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore stands charge-sheeted by the CBI has been creating history of sorts in the Punjab and Haryana High Court after yet another division bench recused itself from hearing Haryana’s former top cop’s matter. So far, at least five benches in the high court have refused to hear the matter on different pretexts.

Rathore has been accused to molesting a teenager who had joined the lawn tennis association run by the former DGP. The molestation purportedly later drove her to commit suicide.

As the case came up for hearing in the court on Tuesday, the bench of Justice SK Mittal and Justice Arvind Kumar referred the matter to some other bench, after obtaining orders from the high court Chief Justice. The petition would now come up before a high court bench which excludes Justice Mittal as its part.

On July 28, the matter was placed before the bench of Justice Mittal and Justice AN Jindal. But it was referred to some other bench, after Justice Jindal recused himself.