Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to Youth Congress president BV Srinivas in alleged harassment case

The Supreme Court on Friday, October 20 granted anticipatory bail to Indian Youth Congress president BV Srinivas in an alleged harassment case. 

The bench, consisting of Justices BR Gavai, Aravind Kumar and PK Mishra, made its 17 May order absolute, noting Srinivas's cooperation with the investigation.

In May, the court had directed Srinivas to co-operate with the police and the National Commission for Women's inquiry, offering him interim protection against arrest. The complainant, former chief of the Youth Congress in Assam, was expelled from the Congress after accusing Srinivas of harassment.

The Gauhati High Court had previously rejected Srinivas's anticipatory bail plea. The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Assam government on 17 May, seeking a response by 10 July.

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As per the allegations of the complainant, the former president of Assam Youth Congress Angkita Dutta claimed that she has been systematically sidelined and kept out of the loop regarding crucial matters.

Despite being the president, she was not included in decision making. She also alleged gender discrimination, stating that Srinivas undermined her because of her gender.

She had reported these issues to the IYC general secretary and to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. However, no action or inquiry was initiated against Srinivas or Vardhan Yadhav (Assam IYC Secretary) in response to her complaints.

Furthermore, she alleged that Srinivas and Yadhav initiated a social media campaign against her, falsely claiming that she is joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to evade investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Saradha Chit Fund case.