Retired MSRTC officer gets pre-arrest bail in sexual harassment case
A Mumbai court granted anticipatory bail to ex-MSRTC officer Veerendra Kadam, accused of sexually harassing a KPMG consultant during a meeting.
MUMBAI: The sessions court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Veerendra Kadam, a retired Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) officer booked by the Nagpada police for sexually harassing a consultant deputed at the corporation office.
The complaint, filed by the KPMG consultant, referred to an incident on May 29 this year, when she and one of her colleagues were called to Kadam’s cabin for a routine team meeting. The MSRTC hired the complainant for various projects and alleged that Kadam offered her promotions and other benefits in return for sexual favours.
According to the complainant, after the meeting, the officer asked everyone except the complainant to leave the cabin. He allegedly told her that her professional advancement within the organisation is based on her “willingness to be more accommodating to his advances”.
He allegedly suggested starting a ‘friends with benefits’ relationship with him, Kadam offered to book a hotel, adding that he was deprived of physical relationships. He allegedly offered to release a major work order for KPMG and recommend her for an out-of-turn promotion in place of sexual favours. The complainant mentioned that Kadam continued with his lewd remarks despite her visible discomfort and attempts to steer the conversation back to professional matters.
The additional sessions judge Shayana V Patil granted Kadam pre-arrest bail on furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000 and one or two solvent sureties in the same amount.
“We had cited call records where the officer called the complainant, asking her to compromise for favours. She is a single woman who came here for a job. Even after the FIR was filed, the officer threatened her to withdraw the same via some source” said Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma.
In the anticipatory bail plea filed by Kadam, he alleged that the complaint was false, and it was filed after the consultant was informed of her termination from MSRTC. The plea observed that the timing of the complaint showed that it was done as an act of revenge after she was removed from several projects due to her “failure to meet the required qualifications.”
The complainant was hoping for continued employment with MSRTC. When it became evident on 29th May 2024 that she would no longer be retained, she filed this false, scandalous and baseless complaint to “tarnish his reputation”, observed the plea.
Kadam was booked under section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC, based on the complaint filed by the complainant. The complainant alleged that the Internal Complaints Committee formed was changed to suit the accused, after which she approached the state authorities again.