Court to hear on June 19 state’s argument over bail pleas by 3 TCS staffers

Nashik: The sessions court has scheduled for June 19 to hear the prosecution’s response to the regular bail pleas filed by three Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employees accused in a case involving allegations of sexual assault and religious harassment.The three accused, a woman and two of her male colleagues, were arrested by the Deolali Camp police after an FIR was registered against them on March 26. The matter came up following extensive in-camera arguments presented by the defence on Friday.Representing the woman employee (accused No. 3) and accused number 2, advocates Rahul Kasliwal and Baba Sayyad argued that the chargesheet had already been filed and the investigation was complete, with no further recovery required from their clients.

They also highlighted that the woman accused was pregnant and needed proper medical care. The defence further contended that rape charges were not applicable to her, saying the offence of hurting religious sentiments carried a maximum punishment of three years.Advocate Faiz Wasif, appearing for accused number 1, submitted that his client was arrested within hours of the FIR being lodged. He said after an initial five-day police remand, the court had rejected the police’s request for a seven-day extension and instead remanded the accused to magisterial custody. Wasif argued that this indicated custodial interrogation was no longer necessary and also flagged what he described as key “loopholes” in the chargesheet that favour his client.