THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat is learnt to have cautioned the government against registering sexual harassment case against former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in haste.The veteran lawyer said it was undesirable to slap sexual harassment charge against Chandy and other leaders named in the Solar Commission report as they could claim it as a relationship of mutual consent and not rape. If an FIR is registered purely on the basis of the report, it could even be quashed by the court.
But a preliminary investigation can be conducted into the reported incidents. Registering of police case can be decided by the investigation team.Pasayat has stated that corruption cases could be registered on the basis of the commission report.
He also seconded Justice Sivarajan Commission’s opinion that seeking sexual favours too came under the purview of corruption. The follow-up action should be dealt with special care as the case involves prominent figures. The government is learnt to have decided to go for a preliminary probe as advised by Pasayat.
Dissent led to the move
It was following voices of dissent within the government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan opted for an expert advice from Pasayat.