Hari Padman, accused in the case of sexual harassment of a former student at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation, withdrew his bail application submitted before the Madras High Court on Friday, May 5. Hearing the bail plea on Friday, the court had initially adjourned the matter till June 16. But later in the day, the accused’s lawyer requested to withdraw the bail plea. The Tamil Nadu State Women’s Commission (SWC) also opposed the bail via an intervention petition on the grounds that it had received statements regarding sexual harassment at Kalakshetra from over 100 students.
Earlier, on April 11, the IX Metropolitan Magistrate in Chennai, S Mohanambal, had dismissed Hari Padman’s bail application. The lower court had accepted the prosecution’s argument that the investigation into the case was still in the preliminary stages.
Hari Padman was a senior dance teacher in Kalakshetra Foundation's Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA). He was suspended from the post after he was arrested on sexual harassment charges on April 3.
In March this year, multiple students and alumni had come forward levelling allegations of sexual harassment against four Kalakshetra employees — Hari Padman and repertory members Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath. Two of the four complaints against the repertory members by four male students were dismissed by the Foundation's former Internal Committee (IC) on the grounds that the redressal mechanism is gender specific.
Legal action has been taken only against Hari Padman, based on a complaint filed by an alumna. He has been booked under sections 354A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and section 4 (penalty for harassment of woman) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. Students and alumni also alleged that the Foundation propagates a toxic culture that promotes casteism, colourism, and body shaming.
On April 25, allegations of sexual assault were made against a fifth faculty member PT Narendran, who is also on the governing board, by a trans woman alumna of Kalakshetra. The survivor submitted a complaint to the SWC detailing her ordeal. In her complaint, she also named Mohanan, another teacher at Kalakshetra, who she also accused of sexual assault.
Also Read: