Charges framed against RK Pachauri in Sexual Harassment case

Agencies
October 20, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 20: A Delhi Court on Saturday framed charges against environmentalist and former The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) director RK Pachauri in connection with an alleged sexual harassment case.

The court had last month ordered for the framing of charges against the former director of TERI.

The charges have been framed under sections 354 (outraging modesty of a woman), 354A (Sexual Harassment) and section 509 (words used to outrage the modesty of a woman).

RK Pachauri today appeared before the court while formally charges were framed against him.

Pleading for a speedy trial in the case, he said, "My age is 78 years and I and my family are suffering from hardship. From almost the last four year we are facing a media trial."

After today's court order on framing of charges, the complainant also issued a press statement and said that the truth will triumph.

"Spoken with my lawyers and understood all aspects especially with regards to challenging for the inclusion of the three charges. Finally, the trial is committed. I have made complete arrangements to be available during the time as asked by the court. The truth will triumph," the statement by the complainant said.

A former junior colleague of Pachauri had levelled sexual harassment charges against him.

Earlier the same court had given the discharge to Pachauri from the section 354B (using criminal force against a woman), 354D (stalking) and 341 (wrongful restraint) by stating that the prima facie these sections had not been made against Pachauri.

Delhi Police had filed the case against Environmentalist RK Pachauri in 2015 on the basis of a complaint filed by a former female junior colleague with a serious charge of sexual harassment at workplace.

Later he got anticipatory bail from Delhi HC, followed by a regular bail from trial court.

The main Chargesheet was filed by the Delhi police in March 2016 in the case contending that there were a sufficient material and evidence against Pachauri.

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News Network
December 22,2025

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received ₹6,654.93 crore in donations during the 2024-25 financial year — a Lok Sabha election year — registering a 68 per cent increase over the previous fiscal.

In its annual contribution report submitted to the Election Commission on December 8, two days ahead of the deadline, the BJP disclosed all donations exceeding ₹20,000. The report, now available on the Commission’s website, covers contributions received between April 1, 2024 and March 30, 2025 — a period marked by the general election and Assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Delhi.

The BJP, the world’s largest political party by membership, had reported donations of ₹3,967 crore in 2023-24. The latest figures represent the party’s highest donation receipts in the last five years.

Electoral trusts accounted for around 40 per cent of the BJP’s total donations. The Prudent Electoral Trust contributed ₹2,180 crore, followed by the Progressive Electoral Trust with ₹757 crore and the New Democratic Electoral Trust with ₹150 crore. Contributions from other electoral trusts together amounted to ₹3,112.5 crore. The remaining funds came from corporate donors and individuals. Electoral trusts are entities set up by companies to channel donations to political parties.

Among major corporate contributors, Serum Institute of India donated ₹100 crore, Rungta Sons Private Limited ₹95 crore, Vedanta ₹67 crore, and Macrotech Developers (formerly Lodha Developers) ₹65 crore. Three Bajaj Group companies together contributed ₹65 crore, while Derive Investments donated ₹50 crore.

Other notable donors included Malabar Gold (₹10 crore), Kalyan Jewellers (₹15.1 crore), Hero Group (₹23.65 crore), Dilip Buildcon Group (₹29 crore), ITC Limited (₹35 crore), Wave Industries (₹5.25 crore) and Zerodha’s investment firm, promoted by Nikhil Kamath, which contributed ₹1.5 crore.

Several BJP leaders also made individual donations. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma donated ₹3 lakh, Assam minister Pijush Hazarika ₹2.75 lakh, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ₹1 lakh, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ₹5 lakh, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava ₹1 lakh, and Akash Vijayvargiya, son of senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, also donated ₹1 lakh, among others.

In contrast, most opposition parties reported a sharp decline in donations. The Congress received ₹522.13 crore in 2024-25, a fall of about 43 per cent from ₹1,129 crore in the previous year. The Trinamool Congress saw donations drop to ₹184.08 crore from ₹618.8 crore, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi reported just ₹15.09 crore, down from ₹580 crore.

The Aam Aadmi Party, however, recorded an increase, collecting ₹39.2 crore compared to ₹22.1 crore last year. The Telugu Desam Party received ₹85.2 crore in donations, down from ₹274 crore, but also earned ₹102 crore through fees and subscriptions. The Biju Janata Dal reported ₹60 crore in donations, compared to ₹246 crore in the previous fiscal.

The 2024-25 financial year is also the first without electoral bonds, after the Supreme Court struck down the scheme as unconstitutional in February 2024. Since its introduction in 2018, the electoral bond scheme had enabled political parties to receive over ₹16,000 crore in anonymous donations, with the BJP receiving the largest share. 

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