‘KPMG top officials relieved in sexual harassment case’

NEW DELHI: Four top executives of KPMG India Pvt Ltd got major relief from the supreme court (SC), which refusing to interfere with an order of the Bombay high court (HC), quashed an FIR against them in a sexual harassment case. SC also allayed the apprehension of the woman employee that the observations made by the HC may affect other legal proceedings initiated by her.

“We find no reason for such an apprehension...,” a bench comprising justices RV Raveendran and JM Panchal said in a recent order while dismissing her petition challenging the HC decision.

The four executives, who got the relief are chief operating officer Richard Rekhy, chief executive officer Russel Parera, HR manager Niloufer Irani and former HR director Sumeet Mathur.

The woman, who was director in the company between September 2005 and November 2006 before she was sacked, had accused the four officers of not taking action on her complaint of sexual harassment as per the SC guidelines. She had made allegations of sexual harassment against three of her other senior colleagues —Vikram Uttamsingh, Abizer Diwanji and Anees Maloo.

On August 6, the HC had concluded that the complaint did not reveal commission of cognisable offence by the officers and observed the four had in fact, constituted a committee to look into the allegations, but the woman did not appear before it. Hence,
the HC quashed the FIR.