Delhi court frames molestation charges against ex-TERI chief RK Pachauri
A Delhi court today framed molestation charges against former TERI chief RK Pachauri in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged by his former colleague. Metropolitan Magistrate, Charu Gupta, put Pachauri on trial for the offense punishable under IPC Sections 354 (outraging modesty), 354 A (making physical contact, unwelcome and sexually colored remarks), and 509 (teasing and using vulgar gesture and actions). Here's more.
Pachauri had pleaded 'not guilty' and claimed trial
The charges were framed after Pachauri pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for the accused, sought a speedy trial after which the court put up the matter for further proceedings on January 4, 2019. On February 13, 2015, an FIR was registered against Pachauri and he was granted anticipatory bail in the case on March 21, 2015.
Pachauri secured order for mandatory publishing of his case's coverage
Pachauri had secured an interim-order from Additional District Judge making it mandatory for media-houses to publish/telecast the case's coverage with a title reading, "In any court, the allegations haven't been proved and they may not be correct." The order said the title should be in the middle of the page in bold-letters and should be five times larger than the font of the article.
Delhi Police had said it had sufficient evidence against Pachauri
An over 1,400-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on March 1, 2016, saying there was "sufficient evidence" against Pachauri that he had sexually harassed, stalked and threatened the complainant. A supplementary charge sheet was filed in March 2017 after the police said it had retrieved several deleted e-mails and chats exchanged between the accused and the complainant.
Deleted WhatsApp chats, text messages retrieved were not fabricated: Report
The final report had said the deleted WhatsApp chats, text messages, retrieved from the cell phones, computer hard disks, and other devices, were "not fabricated". The charge sheet, which was filed a year after the former research analyst of TERI lodged the complaint, had said Pachauri had committed offenses under various sections of IPC. Pachauri has, however, denied all the allegations against him.