Charges against Pachauri in sexual harassment case

Former chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Dr R K Pachauri has been accused of sexual harassment and stalking in a over 1,400-page chargesheet based on the allegations leveled by a former colleague. 

The Delhi Police have also named 23 prosecution witnesses in the case filed in February 2015.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan on Tuesday and will come up for consideration on April 23. “Many of the prosecution witnesses are present and former employees of TERI,” said DCP (South) Prem Nath.

Pachauri is the executive vice-chairman (on leave) of the Governing Council of New Delhi-based TERI. He took up the position on February 8.

Prior to that, Pachauri was the chief executive of TERI since 1982, first as director, and then director-general from April 2001 to February 7.

Pachauri was named in the FIR after a 30-year-old woman, who used to work as a research analyst with TERI, submitted a 33-page complaint in February 2015. During the probe, the



police retrieved evidence from the woman’s mobile phone and laptop as in her complaint she had referred to some emails and messages sent by Pachauri.

Pachauri has denied the charges, but last month, another woman made similar allegations.The chargesheet states that Pachauri sexually harassed the woman for nearly two years after she joined the organisation in September 2013. Pachauri also engaged in “sexually laden conversations” with her over email and SMS, it added.

“The woman’s mobile phone and laptop and their contents were videographed before they were taken as evidence to prevent any tampering with proof,” said another police officer.

The investigators had also sent Pachauri's mobile phone and laptop for forensic analysis as he claimed that he was a victim of hacking and his computer resources were misused.

The woman resigned from TERI in November 2015 stating that the organisation treated her in the “worst possible manner” and harmed her “mentally, professionally and economically.”