KOCHI: The victim in the sleaze talk row involving former Transport Minister A K Saseendran on Friday informed the Kerala High Court she had reached an out-of-court settlement with Saseendran. She termed the incident purely personal.
The woman revealed this in the petition filed by her seeking to quash the complaint pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram.According to the complaint, when she approached the accused for an interview he made sexually explicit comments and placed his hands on her shoulders. The offences alleged against the former minister were Section 354 (A) (sexual harassment), 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC.
In view of the settlement reached between the two parties the proceedings based on the complaint is an abuse of the process and unnecessary wastage of the court’s valuable time, the woman said in her plea.
None other than the petitioner and Saseendran will be affected by settling the case between them since no public interest is involved in the matter.
Moreover, the complaint was lodged by the petitioner on the basis of a mistaken impression. Further proceedings in the complaint will cause undue hardship to the parties involved, the court was told.