No inquiries pending against SCW chief: Maha govt tells HC

The Maharashtra government today informed the Bombay High Court that there were no inquiries pending against newly appointed chairperson of the state womens' commission Susieben Shah.
The statement was made after the High Court had earlier directed the government to respond to allegations levelled against Shah by a woman, who had filed a sexual harassment case against accounting firm KPMG.
Additional government pleader Geeta Shastri today told the court that there was no inquiries pending against Shah.
A division bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and B P Colabawala directed Shastri to file an affidavit in this regard.
Advocate Susieben Shah, daughter of former minister B A Desai, was appointed as the chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Women earlier this month. Six others were also appointed as members of the commission by the government.

The appointments were made following a direction from the High Court during the hearing of a public interest litigation raising the issue of the posts in the commission lying vacant since 2009.

However, an application was filed by the woman, who had filed sexual harassment case against KPMG, seeking to challenge Shah's appointment as chairperson.
According to the woman, when she had filed her complaint against KPMG, Shah had allegedly tried to influence her and asked her to withdraw the complaint against the accounting firm.
"I had in February 2009 filed a complaint against her (Sushiben Shah). She is not fit to hold the position of chairperson of the women's commission," the woman had said in her intervening application.