RK Pachauri seeks nod to travel Kazakhstan to meet President, ministers

NEW DELHI: TERI Director General R K Pachauri, facing sexual harrassment allegations from a woman employee, today approached a Delhi court seeking its nod to travel to Kazakhstan to meet its President and ministers on environmental issues later this week.

The application was filed before Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan, who posted the matter for hearing tomorrow.

In his plea, Pachauri said he was scheduled to make a presentation on environmental issues before Kazakhstan's President and cabinet members.

"The leadership of Kazakhstan is very concerned about these issues and the need to pursue a path of sustainable development. For this reason, they are organising a high-level set of presentations before the President and members of the Cabinet of Kazakhstan," his plea said.

It further said other participants in the presentation include Nobel laureate, Dr Mohammed El Baradei, and former Costa Rica President Jose Maria Figueres and the session was scheduled for September 17 and 18 at Astana in Kazakhstan.

"Therefore, the applicant is seeking permission to travel from September 16 to September 19 as per programme," it said.

Earlier, the court had allowed Pachauri to travel to China and Japan to attend meet on environmental issues.

The court had granted him anticipatory bail while imposing the conditions that he will join the probe as and when called and not enter the TERI office premises.

On February 13, an FIR was registered against Pachauri on charges of sexual harassment under IPC sections 354, 354 (a), 354(d) (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

TERI governing council had on July 23 appointed Dr Ajay Mathur, currently the director general of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), as its Director General.

Pachauri had also stepped down from United Nations' IPCC and Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change.