Delhi HC restrains news in Pachauri sexual harassment case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained a media house from publishing news reports relating to TERI director general R.K. Pachauri on a sexual harassment complaint against him by a woman research analyst.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva restrained Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. till May 15 from publication of articles against Pachauri on proceedings and outcome of the committee which had initiated an inquiry against him under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act.

Posting the matter for May 15, the bench asked TERI's internal complaints committee, whose three months inquiry period will expire on May 16, not to disclose its findings.

The court's interim order came on a plea filed by Pachauri challenging the order by a single judge who had allowed publication of news in the issue.

Pachauri, who was present in court, sought a restraining order on publication of reports relating to the alleged complaint.

On February 17 , the single judge restrained publication of news on the issue, but the next day (February 18), modified the order and lifted the ban, against which Pachauri appealed to the division bench.

Pachauri stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February and proceeded on leave from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), where he was the director general.

But he has denied the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him.

Citing several SMS texts, e-mails and WhatsApp messages as evidence, the woman accused Pachauri of sexually harassing her soon after she joined TERI in September 2013 and filed a complaint in February 2015.

Pachauri was granted anticipatory bail on March 21 but was directed not to leave the country without the court's permission.