Rajendra Pachauri, the disgraced former head of the United Nations climate change panel who resigned from the body amid sexual harassment allegations past year, has been formally charged by Indian police.
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A charge sheet was filed by police in a sexual harassment case against TERI executive vice chairman R.K Pachauri, court sources said.
The new appointment led to outrage in India, even as another TERI employee accused Pachauri of being a serial sexual offender last month and asked for his anticipatory bail to be quashed.
After a year-long investigation a 1,400-page charge sheet against the renowned climate scientist was submitted by Delhi police yesterday.
The charge sheet includes the names of 23 prosecution witnesses including former colleagues who are ready to testify against him.
She said the complaint of the former TERI woman employee was thoroughly examined and statements of witnesses, many of whom are present and former employees of the organisation and friends were recorded.
Pachauri’s lawyer Ramesh Gupta said his client was being vilified and could not be arrested because he had been granted anticipatory bail by a court, which means police cannot take him into custody for now.
On February 13, previous year an FIR was registered against Pachauri on charges of sexual harassment under IPC sections 354, 354(a), 354(d) (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Nov 21: Pachauri allowed to enter Teri headquarters and its Gurgaon office by a Delhi court after victim resigns.
The woman claims Pachauri began harassing her via email, Whatsapp and text messaging soon after she joined the non-profit thinktank in September 2013.
Prior to that, Pachauri was the chief executive of TERI since 1982, first as director, and then director-general from April 2001 to February 7.
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Mr Pachauri collected the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 on behalf of the IPCC for its work in the scientific assessment of the risks and causes of climate change.
