A Delhi court on Saturday took cognisance of a charge sheet filed against environmentalist RK Pachauri, accused of sexually harassing a colleague at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
The court said there was sufficient material to proceed against Pachauri under Sections 354-A, 354-B, 354-D, 509 and 341 of IPC related to sexual harassment and wrongful restraint.
Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan considered the charge sheet and fixed July 11 for further hearing.
Delhi police have cited around 23 prosecution witnesses and several text messages, e-mails and WhatsApp messages exchanged between him and the victim as evidence to support its case.
Pachauri, who was former executive chairman of TERI, was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague in 2015. He stepped down as chairperson of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and proceeded on leave from TERI.
In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly, a charge which was denied by TERI.
On February 8, Pachauri was appointed executive vice chairman of the organisation. Following severe criticism, TERI on February 12 asked him to proceed on indefinite leave.
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