Chandigarh: In a move that has shocked the
friends of molestation victim Ruchika Girhotra, the Central
Administrative Tribunal has restored the pension of former
Haryana DGP S P S Rathore who was convicted in the 1990 case.
A division bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal
(CAT) headed by Justice S D Anand has ordered the restoration
of the pension of Rathore, which was stopped by the Centre in
June last year.
69-year-old Rathore was awarded six months' rigorous
imprisonment and fined Rs 1,000 by the Chandigarh CBI court in
December 2009 for molesting the 14-year-old tennis player here
on August 12, 1990. The girl committed suicide three years
later.
The bench observed that it was of the considered view
that the competent authority could not have validly directed
withholding of pension on permanent basis.
Ruchika's family friend Anand Prakash said the news has
come as a shock for him.
"Definitely it is disappointment for me and the parents
and to the public that he has walked away with full pension
again while he does not deserve anything," said Prakash.
"We are consulting our consultants. If there is any
scope, we will move the court. Pension should not be restored
when 3-5 FIRs are still pending against him," he said.
His wife Madhu Prakash said, "It is the failure of the
system. Firstly, he got punishment after so long. He enjoyed
all the facilities during this time, got promotion and all. I
am very disappointed by the CAT decision".
In his petition challenging the Union government's
decision, Rathore had pleaded that his pension has been
stopped on a permanent basis without assigning any cogent
reasons by the Central government.
"The pension of a person is not a bounty. It is a legal
entitlement which can only be curtailed by an express
provision of law and not otherwise," the petition added.
Rathore had also compared his case with that of former
Punjab DGP K P S Gill, who too was convicted on charges of
molestation.
"No order for withholding the pension of KPS Gill who has
also been found guilty of molestation. This despite the fact
that the conviction of KPS Gill had attained finality on July
27, 2005 by the apex court," Rathore argued.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 17, 2011, 11:15