Mumbai: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik Police filed a 1,500-page chargesheet in the case of alleged sexual harassment and religious coercion at the Nashik unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Friday.
Four of the accused—Danish Ejaz Sheikh, Tausif Bilal Attar, Nida Ejaz Khan and Matin Majid Patel—have been named in the chargesheet in one of the nine FIRs registered in the case. Matin Patel is the AIMIM corporator from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, from whose home Nida Khan was arrested earlier this month.
They have been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections related to sexual assault, outraging religious sentiments, criminal conspiracy and cheating, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has directed the company to undertake sweeping reforms across all its units to ensure compliance with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act. In a statement, the commission said it had conducted a hearing Thursday to raise “serious concerns regarding systemic gaps in workplace safety and implementation of the PoSH Act” at the firm’s Nashik office.
NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has directed TCS to constitute separate Internal Committees in all 127 units with 10 or more employees within four weeks, conduct comprehensive PoSH training programmes, submit annual PoSH reports to authorities, and ensure the physical presence of concerned officials in the next review meeting.
The case had first come to light in March, after several employees at the TCS office alleged sexual harassment, stalking, workplace intimidation and coercive religious targeting by certain employees and supervisors. The controversy has since triggered widespread political outrage in Maharashtra.
‘Criminal conspiracy’
The chargesheet filed Friday before a Nashik court is based on FIR No. 156/2026 registered at Deolali Camp Police Station on 26 March.
Matin Patel’s name was added as accused after Nida Khan’s arrest by the Nashik and Sambhajinagar City Police on 7 May.
The chargesheet is based on statements of 17 witnesses recorded before a judicial magistrate, medical examination reports, WhatsApp chats, seized email trails, bank statements and documents allegedly linked to attempts at religious conversion and identity alteration, police said.
The SIT concluded that the offences were committed as part of a “criminal conspiracy”.
“Investigation in the same offence will continue and upon receipt of additional evidence, a supplementary chargesheet will be filed before the court under Section 193(9) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,” it said in a statement.
Nashik Police is yet to file charges for the remaining 8 FIRs filed at the Mumbai Naka Police Station on 2 April, and “bail applications of the accused in all these offences have been rejected” by the court.
NCW report & hearing
On 11 May, the NCW had released a report by a fact-finding committee, headed by retired Bombay High Court judge Justice Sadhna Jadhav, which looked into the allegations. The committee, which had visited Nashik in April, described the workplace environment as “deeply disturbing and toxic”, with alleged “pervasive sexual harassment and abuse of authority”.
It also claimed that younger women employees were subjected to sustained mental harassment, bullying and anti-Hindu commentary, and added that some accused allegedly attempted to influence women employees through religious denigration and coercive behaviour.
“The complainants were indeed sexually harassed, attempts of molestation at the hands of the accused persons,” the report read. “There has to be strict compliance of the mandate of Sections 19, 25 and 26 of the PoSH Act, and failure to do so must invite strict action. There should be mandatory preventive and prohibitory mechanisms against workplace sexual harassment and Internal Committees should function proactively rather than merely as formal structures.”
At Thursday’s hearing, the commission flagged what it described as serious systemic failures in workplace safety and PoSH implementation at TCS Nashik office. Among the concerns raised were absence of an accessible local HR and grievance redressal mechanism, lack of a dedicated Internal Committee for the office, non-functional CCTV systems, and questions over supervisory accountability.
The NCW also objected to the continuation of a joint Internal Committee for both Pune and Nashik units, calling it contrary to the provisions of the PoSH Act. It further questioned why no senior TCS official had physically visited the Nashik BPO to directly engage with employees despite the gravity of the allegations.
Acknowledging Tata Group’s contribution to the nation, it stressed that an institution of such stature and public standing was expected to implement the provisions of the PoSH Act.
The commission also reiterated that organisations must approach PoSH complainants with “compassion, sensitivity and empathy”. It emphasised that criminal proceedings in the case would continue independently, while its focus would remain on ensuring stronger implementation of PoSH Act and improving workplace safety mechanisms for women employees.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)