Sexual harassment case: Gujarat High Court issues notice to Church

Ahmedabad, 24 June 2012

Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to the office-bearers of Methodist Church of India, seeking replies to a petition alleging sexual harassment of a woman employee, who later committed suicide.

The petition, filed by Samuel Dabhi from Anand district, seeks that a criminal complaint be lodged against the church office-bearers for sexual harassment of his daughter Violet, who worked as a superintendent at Methodist Church of India’s boys’ hostel in Kathlal town.

“Some of the office-bearers were involved in misappropriations of the grant money of the church and they were pressurising Violet to fall in line. But when she refused they started harassing her and some lewd SMSes also started circulating,” said advocate Rajesh Shah, Dabhi’s lawyer.

“Ultimately they sacked her, which made her so depressed that she committed suicide on April 8, 2012. Church authorities ignored her father’s plea, and local police only took his application, but no FIR was registered. Hence we were constrained to move the High Court,” he said.

The petition demands that police should probe the circumstances which led to Violet’s suicide.

Earlier this week, Justice R H Shukla asked the Church as well as the police authorities to file reply by July 20, the next date of hearing.