A local court in Chandigarh on Wednesday adjourned till March 10 the hearing on the appeal of SPS Rathore against the six-month sentence in the Ruchika molestation case, taking into cognizance that the former Haryana director general of police was still recovering from the assault on him two days back.
Additional District and Sessions Judge R S Attri said the case would be taken up for hearing on three consecutive days from March 10.
68-year-old Rathore and his lawyer-wife Abha were present during the proceedings. Rathore, convicted in the Ruchika molestation case, was on Monday stabbed thrice in the face with a pocket knife by Utsav Sharma, a 29-year-old student of the prestigious Ahmedabad National Institute of Design posing as a journalist and said to be suffering from a psychological disorder.
The incident had occurred when Rathore was coming out of the court after a hearing. The former DGP's lawyer N D Sharma had also sustained minor injuries in the attack and both had to be treated in a hospital.
On Monday, Attri's court had commenced in-camera proceedings in the Ruchika molestation case in which the former DGP has filed an appeal against the sentence and a fine of Rs 1,000 while the CBI, in a cross appeal, has sought maximum punishment of two years.
Attri had last month fixed three days from February 8 for hearing Rathore's appeal against the sentence awarded to him on December 21 last year by the CBI Judge J S Sidhu who had held the former IPS officer guilty of molesting 14-year-old tennis player Ruchika Girhotra at Panchkula in Haryana on August 12, 1990.
Rathore, who was held guilty under section 354 IPC (molestation) by the CBI court, was granted bail by the sessions court after his appeal was admitted on January 13.
