A man must know difference between woman's implied consent and no: Tribunal

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

R K Pachauri, former director of The Energy and Resources Institute, «physically as well as emotionally blackmailed» his assistant, then a 29-year-old woman, according to an Industrial Tribunal that has upheld a TERI internal panel's indictment of Pachauri in 2015. «Pachauri was at a very good position and should have been extra vigilant in his conduct. He should have been setting example in the institution, but to the contrary, he had rather violated the dignity of the woman by committing sexual harassment, which cannot be ignored by the court and cannot be endorsed,» the tribunal said in its order earlier this week.

Pachauri passed away in 2020 at the age of 79. The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of TERI in a report in May 2015 had indicted Pachauri, the then head of the institute. However, the Industrial Tribunal stayed the findings and operation of the ICC report the same year, based on an appeal filed by Pachauri.

Holding no merit in Pachauri's allegations of mala fide against ICC and alleged violation of principle of natural justice, the tribunal dismissed his appeal. This is the first-of-its-kind judicial verdict in a case of sexual harassment at workplace in the country.ET sees copy of the order "...a 'man' should know the difference amongst explicit consensus by a woman and her explicit 'No' or her implied consent", it said. Elaborating on the menace of sexual harassment, the tribunal said, «Sexual harassment is the expression of unhealthy human relationship.