Pachauri told to move magistrate court for foreign trip

A sessions court here on Monday directed environmentalist R.K. Pachauri, accused in a sexual harassment case, seeking permission to travel to Greece for an international conference on water conservation, to approach the magisterial court.

Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kumar Tripathi granted liberty to Pachauri to withdraw his plea to be allowed to travel to Greece from April 26 to 29 for the Global Water Summit, and move a fresh application before the metropolitan magistrate related to the case.

Pachauri was granted anticipatory bail on March 21 but he was directed not to leave the country without court's permission. He was also directed not to visit the premises of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Pachauri stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February and also proceeded on leave from TERI, where he was director general, but has denied the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him.

The allegation was made by a woman research analyst who has also filed a police case against him.

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