Panchkula (Haryana), Jan 1 : The Panchkula sessions court on Friday granted an interim bail to former Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SPS Rathore and put a stay on his arrest till January 7.

Rathore has been charged for allegedly molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990

The court has also asked for a reply from the state government in the concerned matter.

Rathore''s bail hearing started at the Panchkula sessions court around 9:30 am.

Arguing for anticipatory bail, Rathore''s lawyer wife Abha said, "School did not expel Ruchika because of us. Let any inquiry be initiated, we will come out clean."

"In the recent FIR, there was no case made out on Sec 307, which is Attempt to Murder, as there was no complaint at that time by Ruchika''s brother and no medical examination. Now after all these years, the Girhotras are and misleading media," she added.

Ruchika''s family lawyer Pankaj Bharadwaj on the other hand claimed before the hearing that all charges by Abha Rathore are false and that the Rathores got Ruchika''s inquest report fudged.

Earlier at a press conference in Chandigarh, Ruchika''s lawyer said that if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not collected vital evidence during its investigation in the case.

He added that a clear case of abetment is made out against Rathore.

On December 21 a special CBI court in Chandigarh convicted Rathore. He was sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1,000 but released the same day on bail.

Ruchika''s family mustered courage on Tuesday the sixteenth death anniversary to strike back and file complaints against Rathore, which were promptly converted into FIRs by the Panchkula police.

The charges in the FIR are serious non-bailabe offences that includes attempt to murder, assault, illegal confinement and forging documents.

Ruchika unable to bear the trauma imposed on her family at the hands of Rathore committed suicide three years after the incident. (ANI)