ARVIND KUMAR MALHOTRA Vs. SMT. ANJU ANAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer made in this petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short "the Code") is for quashing of complaint dated November 18, 2003 under Section 506 and 509 IPC filed by respondent in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh and the summoning order dated February 28, 2005 and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom.

(2.) BRIEFLY that facts, as pleaded in the petition, are that petitioner is a senior officer working with the Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Development Corporation Limited (for short "the Corporation"). On September 10, 2001 four employees including respondent were unauthorisedly absent from duty in the working hours. While the other employees apologized in writing for their dereliction of duty, the respondent started misbehaving and threatening the petitioner to teach him a lesson. Immediately the matter was reported to the Managing Director of the Corporation by forwarding a written note of September 10, 2001. Respondent was transferred from the place she was working. Thereafter respondent filed a complaint with the managing Director of the Corporation levelling false and concocted allegations of misbehaviour, misdemeanor and nefarious designs against the petitioner. Keeping in view the allegations of the respondent, the Corporation keeping in view the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Vishakha and Ors. v. : AIR1997SC3011 , constituted a committee of Mrs. Varsha Joshi, CEO, CHB, Mrs. Agya Rajinder Singh, IAS (Retd.), General Secretary, RACHETA, Mrs. Madhvi Kataria, Director Social Welfare, UT and Sh. N.S. Brar, CGM, CITCO to look into the complaint made by respondent vide order dated October 11, 2001. The proceedings before the Committee started on October 16, 2001 and after affording detailed hearing to both the parties and permitting them to lead evidence, the Committee in its enquiry report dated May 12, 2003 opined that allegations of respondent of sexual harassment on the part of the petitioner are not sufficiently borne out from the available evidence. The allegations of unwelcome sexually determined behaviour and reasonable apprehension of adverse consequences as per guideline's* of Vishakha's case (supra) by Hon'ble the Supreme Court were not found to be established. No ground was found to take any disciplinary action against the petitioner.

(3.) AFTER the dismissal of writ petition filed by the respondent by this Court on August 14, 2003 besides filing Petition for Special Leave to Appeal before Hon'ble Supreme Court, respondent filed a complaint dated November 18, 2003 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh under Sections 506 and 509 IPC in which the petitioner was summoned to face trial vide order dated February 28, 2005 after recording preliminary evidence in the form of statements of respondent No. 2 complainant, her husband and one witness from the office of the petitioner. It is at this stage, the petitioner approached this Court for quashing of complaint, summoning order and all subsequent proceedings thereto.