Rajendra Pachauri, former chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has been given permission by a Delhi court on Monday to travel to the U.S. and Mexico for conferences between July 12 and Aug. 14. He has been accused of sexual harassment by a former female employee of the organisation.
Apart from the permission to travel abroad, he has also been granted bail in the sexual harassment case by Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan, the Hindustan Times reported. He had been earlier granted anticipatory bail.
The court gave him permission on Monday as he has earlier been granted leave to travel for conferences and meetings. He has reportedly complied with earlier conditions set by the court.
"In these circumstances, the accused (Pachauri) is permitted to travel as per his itinerary from July 12 to August 14," the court was quoted as ruling by the HT.
The former TERI chief has been embroiled in controversy since 2015 when the allegations against him were made. However, during the period of the investigation he was not arrested, which was taken into cognisance by the court.
"This goes to show that ‎his custody is not required for the purpose of the investigation. No fruitful purpose will be served by sending the accused person to jail," the court said.
At least two former female employees of TERI have levelled charges against the 75-year-old for sexual harassment.
The institute also let Pachauri go only in 2016 despite the accusations.
The police filed a lengthy chargesheet against him and had used WhatsApp and emails exchanged between the accused and the victim. The victim had resigned from her position in the institute after she could not tolerate the harassment any more.
Pachauri could face up to seven years of jail, if found guilty.
