Karnataka State Bar Council suspends advocate for sexual harassment of junior
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Bar Council has suspended the enrolment of a 46-year-old advocate from Bengaluru for alleged sexual harassment of a junior in his office and referred the matter to a Disciplinary Committee.
The complaint was filed by a 26-year-old female junior advocate who had joined the office of the accused in April 2022. Following a series of alleged forceful behavior, she quit his office in September 2022.
She was thereafter allegedly blackmailed by the senior advocate, who also filed criminal cases against her.
The Bar Council in its proceedings noted: “Perused the documents and the allegations made in the complaint and also exchanged through WhatsApp messages between the parties. The WhatsApp messages show (an) unprofessional approach by the Respondent Advocate towards the complainant. This is a clear case of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation and professional misbehavior on the part of the respondent Advocate towards a woman junior Advocate.”
The proceedings also said the accused advocate sought time on October 5, 2023 to file his explanation to the complaint filed against him. But “even after a lapse of 30 days’ of time, the Respondent has failed to file any explanation or any objections, before the Bar Council Authority,” the proceedings have recorded.
“It is resolved to suspend the respondent pending enquiry and it is further resolved to refer the same to Disciplinary Committee No.1 for enquiry,” according to the proceedings of the recent Bar Council meeting.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
