Can sexual harassment cases be pursued by ‘proxy,’ asks HC

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought to know if third parties could speak and drag sexual harassment cases, especially when the victim does not wish to pursue with the allegations. The query was posed by a single-judge bench of Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla while hearing a suit filed by film producer Vikas Bahl against his former business partners Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. He has sought direction against the partners, who have been making public statements over the allegations ofsexual harassment, levelled against Bahl by his former female employee. In his suit through advocate Sharan Jagtian, Bahl has sought damages worth Rs 10 crore from his partners for tarnishing his image in the Bollywood industry. Justice Kathawalla posed the query after perusing the written statements of the victim, who

specifically refused to further pursue with the case. Senior counsel Navroz Servai, appearing for the victim said, "My client does not wish to pursue with the case. She wants to leave all this behind and walk further in her life." Having heard the submission, Justice Kathawalla said, "When the victim is not ready to pursue with the matter then shouldn't her wishes be respected? Why should then such third parties (Kashyap and Motwane) be allowed to speak over the issue?" Interrupting the judge, Servai further said, "My client has no objection to others who talk on this issue." "So the woman does not want to do anything in this matter but wishes others do it. Can third parties be allowed to pursue the case further?" asked a visibly irked Justice Kathawalla. Meanwhile, Kashyap and Motwane filed their affidavits before the court and made an attempt to highlight the "bad side" of Bahl. In their affidavits filed through senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, the filmmakers have claimed Bahl could seldom control himself after he is drunk. They even cited the statements of actors Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan who have publicly spoken about the abusive behavior of Bahl. They even alleged that Bahl was infamous for his inappropriate behavior with female employees. On the contrary, Bahl through senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas argued when the victim herself does not want to pursue with the case then why should these defendants be allowed to make wild allegations against him. The bench after hearing the arguments at length directed all parties to file their say and clarified it will not allow anyone else to address the court except Bahl through a rejoinder against the allegations made by Kashyap and Motwane through their affidavits.