Former TERI chief RK Pachauri, accused in a sexual harassment case, was once again allowed to travel abroad by a Delhi court on Thursday.
Pachauri, currently on bail, was granted permission by Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan to travel to the USA, Croatia and Norway from 13 October to 12 November. He had returned on 27 September from a month's trip to the USA, Mexico, China and Kazakhstan.
The court allowed the application filed by Pachauri, through his counsel Ashish Dixit, noting that he has been allowed to travel abroad on earlier occasions too and asked him to file a copy of his travel tickets and intimate the court after his return or any changes in his travel itinerary.
Pachauri was also directed to furnish an undertaking that he shall appear in court in person or through counsel and not dispute his identity at a later stage.
The court had on 11 July granted bail to Pachauri and allowed him to travel abroad after he appeared before it pursuant to the summons issued against him.
Pachauri has been allowed by the court to travel over a dozen times to various countries including USA, UK, China, Japan, France, Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Kuwait, Mexico, Somalia and Saudi Arabia, during pendency of the probe and proceedings.
The former TERI chief was summoned as accused by the court after it took cognisance of the chargesheet filed against him for allegedly sexually harassing an ex-colleague.
The court, while taking cognisance of the charge sheet, had said there was sufficient material to proceed against him under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault against woman with intent to disrobe), 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of woman) and 341 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC.
The charge sheet, filed by Delhi Police on 1 March last year, had arrayed 23 prosecution witnesses, many of whom are present and former employees of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). An FIR was lodged against Pachauri on 13 February last year and he was granted an anticipatory bail in the case on 21 March.
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