Nida Khan, the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employee at the centre of the Nashik sexual harassment and alleged religious conversion case, has filed an anticipatory bail application before a Nashik sessions court, citing her two-month pregnancy as grounds for pre-arrest protection. The plea will be heard on Monday. Her counsel has denied all charges, arguing that the sections invoked attract a punishment of less than seven years.
The development comes as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case examines 78 emails, chat communications, and bank transaction records to establish accountability and determine whether internal grievance mechanisms under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act functioned as mandated. Eight arrests have been made so far across nine FIRs registered at Deolali Camp and Mumbai Naka police stations.
TCS has clarified Khan’s designation, which had earlier been reported as “HR head” or “HR manager” across several outlets. The company has stated that Khan was employed as a process associate, a role involving operational HR functions such as onboarding documentation and record verification, rather than a managerial or policy-setting HR position. Her exact involvement in the handling of internal complaints at the Nashik unit is still under investigation and has not been independently verified.
In an official statement, the company said: “TCS has a zero-tolerance policy against any form of harassment and discrimination. We take all complaints seriously and are fully cooperating with the authorities in the ongoing investigation.” TCS has also announced an internal oversight panel, with Deloitte and law firm Trilegal engaged to support the probe, and said an initial review of its official ethics and POSH channels surfaced no complaints corresponding to the current allegations; a claim the SIT is separately scrutinising.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has initiated a suo motu inquiry and constituted a four-member fact-finding committee, which began its on-ground investigation at the Nashik facility on April 18 and is expected to submit its report within ten working days.
The case has drawn sharp attention to workplace grievance redressal in the BPO and ITES sector, particularly the implementation of Internal Committees under the POSH Act, 2013. With the SIT examining whether systemic reporting failures allowed alleged misconduct to continue over an extended period, the outcome is likely to have wider implications for how Indian employers audit and enforce their workplace safety frameworks.
