TNN
Bangalore/New Delhi Feb 22: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reconsider its judgment clearing the prosecution of Som Mittal, former head of Hewlett Packard's BPO operations, in a case related to the 2005 rape and murder of an employee, Pratibha Srikanta Murthy.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal shut out attempts of Mittal's senior advocate K K Venugopal for a reconsideration of the earlier verdict asking Mittal to face prosecution.
The case has India Inc worried about the repercussions of a ruling enlarging the liability for incidents such as the rape and murder of Pratibha Murthy to include CEOs.
Mittal, now chairman of Nasscom, faces prosecution under the Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act for violation of an 2002 order making it mandatory for BPOs to provide security in vehicles ferrying women on night shift.
The prosecution contends that Pratibha was violated and murdered by the cab driver that had been sent to pick her. The company, in violation of the state law, had failed to adhere to security guidelines.
On January 29, when the two-judge Bench delivered its verdict, Justice H K Sema said the high courts should rarely entertain pleas for quashing of complaints. But Justice Katju felt HCs should exercise review power sparingly, not rarely.
Pratibha trial resumes today
Bangalore: The sensational Pratibha Srikant Murthy murder trial will resume on Friday, coincidentally a day after the Supreme Court quashed the petition filed by Som Mittal, former chief of HP. He had questioned the notice against him issued by the labour department over Pratibha's death.
Labour department officials said the notice against Mittal was for violation of the Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act 1961. A senior official of the department explained that the violation was found after the murder.
"There is no scope for any imprisonment for violation of the provision under this Act. It's a social responsibility on the part of the company to provide security to women employees working in night shifts. This was violated by the company," deputy commissioner of the department G Manjunath said. Sources said the maximum penalty for this violation would be Rs 50,000.
Another official pointed out that had the company not challenged the notice up to the Supreme Court, the issue would have been settled with a penalty.
"The Supreme Court direction has come as a reminder to all companies, including BPOs and MNCs, of the provisions of this Act," an officer added.
The Karnataka High Court had dismissed the petition filed by Mittal for quashing the charges against him in which he pleaded that a managing director of the company cannot be hauled up for negligence in such a case.
Pratibha's family reacts
More than two years after the murder of Pratibha, the family said senior administrative officials of the company should have been questioned and held indirectly responsible much earlier. Pratibha's uncle Srinivasa said the SC direction will help thousands of women employees.
"We cannot get Pratibha back. At least other women employees who work in night shifts should be given proper security. After a long wait for justice, now all we want is a speedy trial and judgment," he said.
Bangalore: The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, bars women from working at night. However, an amendment in 2002, brought in as per recommendation of the state's IT policy, exempts IT, ITenabled services, BT and essential services. Essential services include hospitals, railways, and media organisations. After the Pratibha Murthy murder in 2005, the then labour minister Iqbal Ansari said he would strictly enforce the law and invoke the ban. He said a notification would be issued to ensure that women are not employed at night. In case of industries where women would be allowed to work at night, company managements would be responsible for their security. In case they failed to provide adequate security to women, they would be fined, Ansari said.
However, the notification was never issued, thanks to widespread agitation by women's groups.
As of now, the ban stays, but IT and some other industries are exempted.
Case so Far
Pratibha Srikant Murthy was murdered on the night of December 13, 2005. The body was recovered three days later on December 16. A BPO employee, Pratibha was picked up by her cab driver outside her house at Anjanapura Layout. However, she never reached the office.
Kumaraswamy Layout police, who investigated the case, arrested cab driver Shivakumar. The trial into the case has seen a lot of hiccups, and about 65 witnesses have deposed before the fast track court.
"The trial will resume on Friday and will continue till February 29. The hearing is at a concluding stage with cross-examination and investigating officer's statement pending. Hopefully, the verdict will be out by April," a senior counsel explained.