HC sets aside evidence recording schedule in Pachauri suit

The Delhi High Court today set aside a trial court order fixing during the summer vacation the recording of evidence in a Rs 1-crore defamation case against activist Vrinda Grover and another woman by former TERI chief R K Pachauri.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva sent the matter back to the trial court for fixing a fresh schedule for recording evidence after the counsel for Pachauri said he was agreeable to re- scheduling of the exercise.
With the above direction, the high court allowed the petition moved by Grover and the other woman challenging the district court's decision fixing recording of evidence by them between June 19 and June 30.

While disposing of their plea, filed through advocate Anupam Srivastava, the high court said that the purport of the order appeared to be to force the lawyers to work during the vacation.
In April 2016, few months after the charge sheet against him was filed in the alleged sexual harassment case lodged by an ex-colleague, Pachauri slapped a civil suit against Grover and the other woman for allegedly making defamatory statements against him outside the court room to the media in connection with the case.
The other woman had also made similar accusations against him but after filing of the original complaint.

Pachauri has sought damages of Rs 1 crore for "false and frivolous allegations" which, he argues, could prejudice his case.

He has also made three media houses, as well as the information and broadcasting ministry, parties to the suit filed before a Patiala House court here and has sought a permanent injunction against any reporting on statements of the two women.
On February 26, Pachauri had secured an order from a Saket court here making it mandatory that the media houses have to publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

The interim order had further said, "When such information is published in any page of a magazine or report then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published.