The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV in an alleged sexual harassment case, reported Live Law.
On April 22, the Assam Police had booked Srinivas on charges of assaulting and molesting former state Youth Congress president Angkita Dutta. The case was filed at the Dispur police station under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to molestation, assault and words or gestures intended to outrage the modesty of a woman.
Srinivas was also booked under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, which deals with publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
On May 4, the Gauhati High Court dismissed his petition seeking to quash the first information report. The High Court had also dismissed his plea seeking anticipatory bail, following which he moved the Supreme Court.
The FIR was registered against the Youth Congress leader after Dutta on April 18 accused him of mentally harassing her and discriminating against her for six months. She also alleged that she was told to keep quiet and that no inquiry was initiated into her allegations. On April 22, Dutta was expelled from the outfit’s primary membership for six years for alleged anti-party activities.
On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol noted that the alleged incident was said to have happened between February 24 and 26 in Raipur and the complaint was lodged in April in Assam.
“Prima facie, taking into consideration the delay of almost two months in lodging the FIR, will entitle the petitioner to interim protection,” the Supreme Court said. “We direct that in the event of arrest the petitioner shall be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing solvent sureties to the sum of Rs 50,000.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Srinivas, told the court that tweets that Dutta posted before lodging the complaint pertained to discrimination that she allegedly faced in the party. She also had given six media interviews before the complaint was lodged, but did not make any allegations of sexual harassment, he said.
On April 18, Srinivas had sent a legal notice to Dutta accusing her of using “utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words” against him. He had also alleged that Dutta was in constant touch with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He alleged that she was maligning and defaming the party to create an atmosphere of leaving the Congress with an objective to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
