HC declines to stay trial court order in Pachauri’s defamation suit

New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay a trial court's order to record evidence in a defamation case by former TERI chief R.K. Pachauri against lawyer Vrinda Grover and another woman.

Justice Sunil Gaur, however, issued a notice to Pachauri, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and three media houses, asking them to file their response by June 16 on Grover's plea challenging the trial court order. The trial court has listed the matter for recording of evidence between June 19 and June 30.

Grover moved the high court saying she was not against the recording of evidence but wanted it to be postponed to from the summer vacations now to July as she and her lawyer are not available during that period.

Environmentalist Pachauri, accused of sexually harassing a colleague in The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has filed a Rs 1 crore civil defamation suit against Grover and another woman for allegedly making defamatory statements against him outside the court to the media. He sought damages for "false and frivolous allegations".

On February 26, a trial court passed an order making it mandatory that the media houses have to publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

In 2016, the Delhi Police chargesheeted Pachuari under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation and words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

Pachauri was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague in 2015. Later, he stepped down as chairperson of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and proceeded on leave from TERI, where he was the director general.