Pachauri case: Chargesheet within 15 days, police tells HC

New Delhi, Feb 11: Police on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that it was likely to file a chargesheet within 15 days in the sexual harassment case registered in February last year against environmentalist R.K. Pachauri by a former TERI colleague. Delhi Police said it has prepared the draft chargesheet which is now being scrutinised by the prosecution branch. Justice S.P. Garg, who is hearing a plea filed by the complaint seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri, asked police to submit the file related to the case by February 15.

Justice Garg also reserved the order on the complaint’s plea. During a brief hearing on Thursday, advocate Prashant Mediratta, appearing for the complaint, told the court that one TERI employee, who has now resigned, had filed a police complaint on January 12 saying senior officials of TERI were pressurising him to have the matter settled by the woman with Pachauri. Delhi Police, represented by Sanjay Lau, told the court that the colleague of the 29-year-old woman research alyst approached police and said that in July 2015, TERI director Sanjay Joshi called him to his office and asked him to talk to the woman if the matter can be settled out of court. The researcher told police that area convener Ree Singh had also spoken to him saying that he must reach out to his woman friend and get her to settle the matter out of court. Lau said the researcher also said that in October last year, director Alok Adholeya had also spoken to him on the same issue.

On being interrogated, Joshi said it was a very casual conversation with the researcher “to save the image of the organisation before the media”, police said. Joshi said he was never asked by Pachauri and any other person of TERI to talk about settling the matter and he had not pressurised him, police said in their affidavit. Adholeya could not be examined because he is currently out of India, police said. Ree Singh was also interrogated in her office, and she said she never talked about any settlement, police said in their status report. Police also said the researcher told them that TERI offiacials never pressurised him.

Advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Pachauri, told the court that TERI officials did not talk to the man on Pachauri’s behalf, adding that he “never exercised any pressure upon TERI and its officials” After the woman employee filed a sexual harassment complaint, Pachauri denied the charge but stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and proceeded on leave from TERI where he was the director general. Later, Pachauri was removed as TERI head in July and Ajay Mathur appointed in his place. In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly. TERI denied the charge. Pachauri has now been appointed executive vice chairman of the organisation despite the ongoing inquiry in the sexual harassment case. (IANS)