In his ruling, S Ramamoorthi, Vice Chairman of MAT, held that police officer S S Yerragunta Rao be considered to be on duty between February 12, 1993 and September 26, 1997, a period during which he was under suspension for a case of rape pending against him. The ruling comes after a city sessions court had acquitted Rao in the case filed against him when he was attached to the special branch of the Mumbai police. The additional sessions judge had acquitted Rao stating that the police officer had been falsely implicated.

Rao retired as an assistant commissioner of police on February 28, 1998.Rao informed the tribunal that the criminal case filed against him was the result of a conspiracy following a raid he conducted on Hotel Citadel at Bandraand Khar. He was tipped off that under the cover of catering business a brothel was being managed at the hotel and minor girls were being married off to Arabs under fake certificates.

The Mumbai police had arrested Rao on the charge of raping one of the girls arrested from the hotel during the raid.

Meanwhile, Rao is also awaiting verdict on a defamation suit he had filed against Mumbai police seeking a compensation of Rs 1 crore.The case is pending in the Bombay High Court.