'No Child Should Be Born in Prison': Nashik Court Grants Bail to Ex-TCS Employee Nida Khan

As per reports, Special Judge K G Joshi, while allowing Khan's bail plea, drew a parallel with the birth of Lord Krishna in prison and said such circumstances would impose avoidable emotional and social distress on both the mother and the child.

Khan, who is five months pregnant, was arrested nearly two months ago in connection with one of several cases linked to allegations of sexual exploitation and religious coercion involving female employees at a TCS outsourcing unit in Nashik.

"It is not disputed that applicant Nida is five months pregnant. The trauma of taking birth in a prison like Lord Krishna or the social stigma attached to it is not sufferable to anyone," the court remarked.

Judge says investigation is complete

The judge said that, considering her pregnancy and the fact that the investigation had been completed and the chargesheet filed, continued custody was no longer necessary.

To ensure the wellbeing of both mother and child, the court held that it was appropriate to exercise judicial discretion in favour of the accused and granted her bail on a personal bond of Rs 75,000 along with a solvent surety of an equal amount.

According to investigators, Khan has been chargesheeted only in the case registered at Deolali Camp police station, while seven other accused are facing charges across nine FIRs registered between March 26 and April 3.

Allegations of religious coercion and harassment

The prosecution alleged that Khan attempted to influence a female colleague's religious beliefs by gifting her a burqa and Islamic literature, installing religious applications on her mobile phone, visiting her residence to teach her namaz and demonstrating the use of a hijab.

Investigators claimed these actions formed part of an effort to persuade the complainant to convert her religion.

However, while granting bail, the court noted that the evidence collected during the investigation prima facie indicated that Khan and others had attempted to influence the complainant's ideological and religious beliefs.

The order also referred to allegations that the accused sought to convince the complainant that there were objectionable narratives within Hindu religious texts and traditions.

Khan's defence counsel argued that she had been falsely implicated and highlighted that she was a highly educated professional who had worked as an Associate at TCS before her services were terminated in April this year.

The prosecution and counsel representing one of the complainants opposed the bail application, contending that the investigation had uncovered sufficient material relating to allegations of sexual exploitation and religious coercion.

Part of wider SIT probe into TCS unit allegations

The case forms part of a wider investigation being conducted by a Special Investigation Team of the Nashik Police into allegations of sexual exploitation, attempted forced religious conversion, molestation, mental harassment and hurting religious sentiments involving women employees at the Nashik unit.

The Deolali Camp police case, in which Khan has been chargesheeted, includes offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to sexual intercourse by deceitful means, sexual harassment and outraging religious feelings, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the complainant belongs to the Dalit community.

Following the allegations, TCS said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any kind and confirmed that employees named in the case had been suspended pending investigation.