Nashik Court Grants Bail To Nida Khan In TCS-Linked BPO Religious Conversion, Sexual Harassment Case
A Nashik court granted bail to Nida Khan in the TCS-linked BPO case involving allegations of religious conversion and sexual harassment
A Nashik court on Monday granted bail to Nida Khan, one of the accused in the alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment case linked to a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-associated Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) unit in Nashik.
Khan was arrested in May after evading arrest for 42 days in connection with the case. She had moved the court seeking bail about a week after being taken into custody.
Additional Sessions Judge K.G. Joshi also granted bail to a co-accused Tausif Attar, and rejected the bail plea of Danish Shaikh.
The case stems from a complaint filed by a female employee, who alleged that Khan had hurt her religious sentiments and attempted to influence her to embrace a different faith. The complainant also accused her of sexual harassment. Khan was arrested following an extensive search operation spanning over six weeks. The police had earlier alleged that she played a key role in the alleged attempts to influence the complainant's religious beliefs.
While granting bail, the Nashik court has not commented on the merits of the allegations, which remain the subject of investigation.
On June 20, the Court had reserved its order on the bail applications.
According to the prosecution, the main accused allegedly concealed his marital status and sexually exploited the complainant, a co-worker belonging to a Scheduled Caste community, on the false promise of marriage. Another co-accused has been accused of sexually harassing the complainant in the office lobby and at other places, while the woman employee has been booked for making remarks allegedly intended to hurt the complainant's religious sentiments.
The case arises out of an FIR registered at the Deolali Camp police station on March 26 under Sections 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means), 65 (sexual harassment) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, besides provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The prosecution has also alleged religious coercion. It submitted before the court that Danish Shaikh had given the complainant a religious book and a burqa, suggesting a conscious attempt to influence and convert her religious beliefs in the course of her alleged exploitation.
Bail Hearing Arguments
Opposing the bail applications, Public Prosecutor Vijay Gaikwad, assisted by the complainant's counsel Milind Kurkute and Nitin Pandit, argued that the allegations were grave and that evidence gathered during the investigation indicated sexual exploitation and religious coercion. The prosecution further contended that the accused acted in concert and that their release on bail could result in tampering with evidence, influencing witnesses and posing a threat to the complainant's safety.
Particular objection was raised to granting bail to co-accused Nida Khan. The prosecution pointed out that she had allegedly evaded arrest for 42 days and was eventually apprehended in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on May 7. It argued that her previous conduct indicated a risk of absconding and that she could potentially assist the other accused in evading the legal process.
The prosecution also informed the court that the accused allegedly enjoyed the support of a political party.
Seeking bail, Advocate Rahul Kasliwal, appearing for Nida Khan, primarily relied on the ground that she is pregnant. Counsel for Danish Shaikh, advocate Umesh Walzade, argued that the investigation had been completed and the chargesheet filed, rendering further custodial detention unnecessary.
The case forms part of a broader investigation by a Special Investigation Team, which is probing nine cases arising from allegations of exploitation, attempted forced religious conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation and mental harassment of employees at TCS's Nashik unit.
TCS has stated that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion in any form and has suspended the employees allegedly involved in the incidents under investigation.
What has happened in the TCS Nashik case so far?
Last month, the Court had rejected the bail plea of Ashwini Chainani, a senior TCS official, who was arrested in connection with a sexual harassment case registered at Mumbai Naka Police Station in Nashik under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and BNSS, 2023.
Recently, a fact-finding committee constituted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) has flagged what it described as a “deeply disturbing and toxic workplace environment” at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services, citing allegations of sexual harassment, systemic bullying, religious denigration, and abuse of authority against women employees.
A Nashik court on May 11, remanded Nida Khan, an accused in the alleged sexual harassment and forced religious conversion case linked to TCS Nashik unit, to judicial custody till May 24. She was produced before the court of Additional Sessions Judge K.G. Joshi after the expiry of her police custody. Since the police did not seek further custodial interrogation, the court remanded her to judicial custody. She has been lodged in Nashik Road Central Jail. Khan was arrested on May 7 from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Khan had earlier approached the sessions court seeking anticipatory bail, claiming innocence and citing her pregnancy. In her plea, she had submitted that she was three months pregnant and sought protection from arrest. Earlier this month, the Court had rejected Khan’s anticipatory bail application, making strong observations on the nature of the allegations against the accused persons. In its May 2 order, the Court observed that there appeared to be a “systematic plan” to brainwash the complainant through “organized attempts”. It further noted that the allegations disclosed a “multi-dimensional and multi-layered” offence requiring detailed investigation. “The magnitude of the offense is truly multi-dimensional and multi-layered,” the court had observed while rejecting pre-arrest protection to Khan.
Bench: Additional Sessions Judge K.G. Joshi