The Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed a sexual harassment FIR lodged against the director of a Gurugram-based company who allegedly used a profanity in an email exchange with a former female employee.
The high court order dated April 18 held that, though 'undeniably uncouth and discourteous', the use of profanity did not constitute a sexually coloured remark under Section 354-A of the Indian Penal Code.
The court allowed the petition of the director of the Gurugram-based company, and quashed the FIR, along with all subsequent proceedings, including the challan.
However, the director was ordered to deposit ₹20,000 into the Poor Patient Welfare Fund at PGIMER, Chandigarh, within a month.
The dispute stems from the female employee taking a four-day medical leave in October 2018, just before a company event scheduled for October 20, for which the woman was supposed to be the point person.
The court held that the FIR was not required under all the legal principles applied, and that the provisions of Section 354-A were for conduct that is sexual in character, which the said email failed to clear.
