A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to environmentalist RK Pachauri, who has been accused of sexually harassing a colleague, and allowed him to travel to Mexico and the US for over a month. Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan took note of the fact that Pachauri was granted permission to travel abroad on several earlier occasions and has complied with the direction of the court.
In these circumstances the accused is permitted to travel as per his itinerary from July 12 to August 14.Court
Pachauri has been asked by the court to furnish a surety of Rs 2 lakh.
The court granted regular bail to Pachauri in the harassment case after furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount observing that the investigation in the case has been completed.
He (Pachauri) was never arrested during the probe in the instant case which goes to show that his custody is not required for the purpose of investigation. No fruitful purpose would be served by sending the accused person to jail.
Pachauri, who was earlier granted anticipatory bail in the case, appeared before the court on Monday in pursuance of summons issued against him on 14 May.
The court fixed 6 October as the date for further hearing. A copy of the chargesheet issued by the Delhi Police was supplied to Pachauri.
Pachauri was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague in 2015. He stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and was on leave from TERI, where he was director general.
In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly. TERI denied the charges.
On 8 February, Pachauri was appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the organisation. Following severe criticism, on 12 February, he went on indefinite leave from the organisation.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)