CHENNAI: A city court in Chennai has granted bail to assistant professor Hari Padman, a dance teacher employed with the Rukmini Devi College for fine arts run by the Kalakshetra Foundation who was facing sexual harassment charges.
The Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Saidapet granted him bail recently after initially being declined bail by a magistrate court and the principal sessions court.
Hari Padman, who was arrested on April 3 by the Police following complaints of sexual harassment of students of the institute, had earlier moved the Madras High Court with a plea for enlarging him on bail but his plea was turned down. However, he withdrew the petition before filing a fresh one.
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When the second bail application came up before Justice AD Jagadish Chandira on Tuesday, his counsel sought to withdraw it citing a grant of bail by the city court. Subsequently, the judge allowed the taking back of the application.
Following complaints of sexual harassment, Hari Padman was suspended from the institute.
The foundation constituted a committee headed by a retired judge to go into the issues. Certain affected students approached the Madras High Court seeking the framing of a gender-neutral policy for protecting the students from being sexually harassed.
The court ordered the foundation to frame such a policy and re-constitute the internal complaints committee with representatives of parents and teachers.