#MeToo: Fourth harassment allegation against Padma Bhushan Jatin Das

Agencies

October 18, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 18: Painter Jatin Das has been accused of sexual harassment by a fourth woman, who Thursday claimed that the Padma Bhushan recipient harassed her when she worked with him as his assistant in "1999 or 2000".

Das denied the allegations, saying he has nothing to do with these.

He was first 'outed' on October 16 by Nisha Bora, co-founder of a paper-making company, as part of India's ongoing #MeToo movement. Bora claimed Das molested her at his studio 14 years ago.

In a post, shared by #MeToo activist Sandhya Menon Thursday, Malvika Kundu alleged that Das misbehaved with her when she was 18 years old.

When contacted by PTI, 76-year-old Das said, saying, "It's very vulgar. I don't know what you people are trying to do here. I have nothing to do with this. I don't know what more I can say."

Kundu accused Das of "unnecessarily" touching her, calling her "baby" incessantly -- even when she objected to his usage of that word -- and standing "too close" when she worked for him.

This all happened on the very first day of the job at his (Das') home, which required cataloguing of his collection of books, she wrote.

"He made me so uncomfortable that I hated the three days I lasted on this job. Telling him off didn't stop him from calling me baby.

"... Apart from the constant baby's he would often unnecessarily touch me, for example by running down his hand down my back, or he would come over, stand too close and speak softly and intently to me about something that could have been said from across the room," she added.

In her account, Kundu also recounted the second day of her job when Das' son visited him along with his friend.

Kundu wrote that she clearly remembers how she envied his son's girlfriend then because "she didn't have to spend her day with her back up, watching for a roving hand or a stray baby".

"This girl was about my age and even dressed and carried herself a little like I

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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