Observing that if there is any allegation against a senior police officer of molesting a child,it has to be dealt with severely,the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday slammed the Haryana government for sleeping for nine years over a complaint against former Haryana director general of police (DGP) S P S Rathore in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh criticised the callous attitude of the Haryana government in not converting the complaint filed by Madhu Prakash into an FIR. We are perturbed. Why did the Haryana state not register an FIR for nine years? Why was it not registered? an angry Chief Justice questioned the Haryana law officer. After the molestation incident on August 12,1990,Madhu Prakash,wife of Anand Prakash,had submitted the complaint to the Haryana Police. The Bench took strong exception to the fact that the FIR was registered only after the intervention of the High Court. Why did it take this court to register an FIR,why did the state not do anything? You (Haryana Police) could have submitted a fact-finding report. How can a complaint be kept pending for nine years without any action? the Chief Justice noted. The court directed the state of Haryana to produce the confidential fact-finding report made by R R Singh,former DGP,against Rathore. The state was also told to produce original copies of Ruchikas affidavit and notings of the Haryana government with regard to promotion and benefits given to Rathore.
