SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court will hear the petition by a woman IAF pilot n May 10, who has accused her senior of sexual harassment. Accepting the petition, the court has already issued notice to defence ministry and IAF, and they are supposed to respond within four weeks, a report in Bar and Bench and India Today said.
In her petition, the woman pilot had accused her Flight Lieutenant of demanding “sexual favours”, passing “objectionable comments” and “touching her inappropriately”.
Once, the petition alleged, the officer touched her shoulder from behind and said: Le tujhe touch kiya ab kaise karegi apne aap ko sanitise?
The harassment started when the lady was posted at the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Squadron at Jammu where the accused officer was her senior. Later, she was posted to Awantipore where her husband is serving the IAF as an officer. She remained there for more than two years before being posted to Jammu again.
“The respondent tried to cross his limits and he passed a lewd and sexually coloured remark/comment isko hath lagao toh current lagta hai. Petitioner firmly told him not to pass such lewd comments,” the plea stated.
After making a formal petition to the ICC (internal complaints committee), the lady officer lodged an FIR against her senior on December 18, 2020. The accused got bail and has finally approached the High Court for quashing the criminal case against him.
Interestingly, the lady officer has accused the ICC of intimidating her and her witnesses during 6-days of cross-examination. The woman officer has now sought a direction to the ICC to hold a fair inquiry and also prayed for the transfer of the accused person so that he does not harass her and other witnesses.
