In a significant development, the Karnataka High Court has stepped in to protect Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and other company representatives from potential harassment by the Bengaluru police. The court issued a clear directive instructing the police to conduct their investigation into an abetment to suicide case without subjecting the petitioners to any form of harassment.
The case, which involves the unfortunate death of a 38-year-old Ola Electric employee, led to the registration of a case earlier this month. Hearing a petition filed by Aggarwal, Ola Electric, and Subrat Kumar Dash, head of the vehicle homologation department, Justice Mohammad Nawaz stated that the police should not harass the petitioners under the “guise of an investigation.”
The court’s order specifically mentioned that the police investigating the case registered at Subramanyapura Police Station in Bengaluru City must not harass the petitioners during their inquiry.
Aggarwal and his colleagues approached the court on October 14th, seeking to have the case quashed and requesting a stay on any coercive action by the police. The court has since issued notices to both the police and the deceased employee’s brother. The police had initiated the case on October 6th following a complaint lodged by the employee’s brother.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the employee reportedly died by suicide on September 28th, leaving behind a note that accused management of workplace harassment. The complaint further alleged that the employee experienced workplace harassment and faced issues with withheld salary and incentives. The employee had been working at Ola Electric as a homologation engineer since 2022.
Adding a layer of suspicion, the complainant noted that approximately ₹17.46 lakh was transferred to his brother’s bank account via NEFT just two days after the death. He also mentioned that company representatives provided conflicting explanations regarding this transaction.
The deceased employee’s note reportedly named Bhavish Aggarwal and Subrat Kumar Dash, alleging that constant workplace harassment had led to his depression. Consequently, the police have booked Aggarwal, Dash, and Ola Electric under Sections 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, citing charges of abetment of suicide and common intention.