Pregnant Former TCS Employee Nida Khan Granted Bail; Court Says Childbirth in Jail Is an Unbearable Trauma
New Delhi : A court in Maharashtra has granted bail to former Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employee Nida Khan, observing that forcing a woman to give birth while in prison would subject her to unbearable trauma and social stigma.
Nida Khan, who is five months pregnant, was arrested on May 7 in connection with the alleged sexual harassment and religious conversion case linked to TCS’s Nashik office. She had reportedly been absconding for nearly 25 days before being arrested from a rented apartment in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
While granting bail on July 6, Additional Sessions Judge K.G. Joshi of the Nashik Road Court said that childbirth in prison would be an extremely painful experience for any woman. Referring to the birth of Lord Krishna in prison, the judge remarked that such trauma and the associated social stigma should not be imposed on anyone.
The court observed that allowing the accused to remain in custody would serve little purpose since the police investigation had been completed and the charge sheet had already been filed. The judge also noted that granting bail would ensure the welfare of both the expectant mother and her unborn child.
Nida Khan’s lawyer, Rahul Kasliwal, argued that she had been falsely implicated in the case. He told the court that Khan, a highly educated professional who worked as an associate at TCS before being terminated in April, deserved bail considering her pregnancy and the completion of the investigation.
The court granted her bail on a personal bond of ₹75,000 along with one solvent surety of the same amount.
The prosecution, however, strongly opposed the bail application. Public Prosecutor Vijay Gaikwad, along with lawyers representing one of the complainants, argued that investigators had collected substantial evidence pointing to allegations of sexual assault and religious coercion involving Khan and co-accused Danish Shaikh.
The case is part of a wider investigation into nine FIRs registered over allegations of sexual exploitation, attempted forced religious conversion, molestation, hurting religious sentiments, and mental harassment of female employees at TCS’s Nashik facility.
According to the police, Nida Khan allegedly attempted to influence one of the victims by giving her a burqa and religious books, installing Islamic applications on her mobile phone, visiting her residence to teach her how to offer namaz, and showing her how to wear a hijab. Investigators claim these actions formed part of efforts to pressure the complainant into religious conversion.
Following the allegations, TCS reiterated that it follows a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion in any form. The company suspended employees accused in the case and clarified earlier that it had not received any internal complaint regarding the matter and that Nida Khan was not serving as the Human Resources head at its Nashik office.
The police investigation is continuing, while the court’s decision ensures that Khan will remain out on bail as the legal proceedings move forward.
News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
