Dalit employee who died by suicide tried to be reinstated by coercion, Bengaluru apparel firm officials tell court

The district court, while granting bail to the two executives, noted that while there were no overt acts of abuse and harassment found in the complaints made by Vivek Raj, there may have been a “toxic atmosphere” between team members. The court also suggested that since Vivek Raj was undergoing treatment for depression, further investigation was needed to determine if his suicide was abetted.

The court observed, “Some sexual and caste-based harassment are also alleged in the complaint. It was alleged by the deceased that he was sexually bullied and mentally harassed routinely and on a daily basis, which all led to his mental depression.”

The court further stated, “Even on perusal of the complaint, it is seen that deceased Vivek Raj was suffering from some mental stress and he was taking treatment for the same before his death. So, whether the deceased committed suicide because of his mental depression or whether he committed suicide only because of the alleged abetment by the accused is a matter yet to be investigated and to be proved at the time of full-fledged trial.”

Vivek Raj, a 2012 NIFT graduate in design, joined Lifestyle International for a second time in September 2022 as a manager. Prior to that, he worked at the firm from 2014 to 2016 and later with Future Retail and Aditya Birla Fashion Ltd.

According to company officials during the bail hearings, a few months into Vivek’s second stint at Lifestyle International, he filed a complaint with the internal committee on sexual harassment, formed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The officials informed the court that the complaint was found to be false.

The internal committee concluded its inquiry on April 19, 2023, and submitted a report on April 25. However, Vivek had already resigned from his position on February 28, 2023, and his resignation was accepted by his reporting manager, Malathy S B, on March 16, 2023, according to the executives’ advocates in court.

Subsequently, on May 8, 2023, Vivek Raj reportedly sent an email pressuring Lifestyle International to accept his request to withdraw his resignation. The company officials claimed that they were summoned by the Marathahalli police after Vivek Raj insisted on filing a case of caste abuse against them following the May 8 communication in an attempt to be reinstated.

As stated by the company officials, they were called to the Marathahalli police station on May 29, 2023, “with regard to the request made by the deceased for withdrawal of his resignation,” according to the district court.

However, the court noted, “No criminal cases were registered against the petitioners on the complaint filed by deceased Vivek Raj. On hearing this, the said Vivek Raj got frustrated and threatened to harm himself if FIR is not registered immediately by accepting his complaint against the accused persons.”

The court also observed, “No doubt, some complaints were filed by the deceased against the petitioners and others on 8.5.2023 as per the email produced by the prosecution. The complaint was filed in respect of some toxic atmosphere which developed between team members,” in its June 22 order.

“The e-mail was sent on 08.05.2023, and the deceased committed suicide on 04.06.2023. There is a gap of about one month between sending the e-mail and suicide. So, whether the contents of the e-mail can be taken as truth or whether any other circumstances might have led the deceased to commit suicide between 08.05.2023 and 03.06.2023 is not yet clear and is to be investigated,” the court stated.

The court granted conditional bail to the two Lifestyle International officials on personal bonds of Rs one lakh each with two sureties, and they are required to appear before the police every 15 days.

Before his death on June 4, Vivek Raj filed a formal complaint on June 3 with the Marathahalli police, alleging caste abuse by his colleagues. The police registered a case under sections 3 (1) (r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act, which pertain to intentionally insulting or intimidating SC/ST members and using caste names to abuse SC/ST members, respectively.

Following the filing of the SC/ST Act case, three work managers were arrested, and two of them were later released on bail. Prior to his death, Vivek Raj released a video statement in which he detailed the caste abuse and discrimination he faced at his workplace. “They are ready to throw money as much as possible to hide the harassment but not correct or define the system,” he said.

In the video, he expressed his frustration with the lack of action taken to address the issue.

“I am sorry and I am proud as well. Fighting the system, whether it might be the government or private sector, is a difficult thing. Coming from a particular background, studying hard, working hard, you change, you evolve and get better as a human being. You try to be kind to others. But the world is not kind to you,” Vivek Raj said in an eight-minute video released on social media ahead of his death on June 3.

The victim’s father, Rajkumar Ramavadh, in his complaint to the police on June 4 said: “The work feedback that was being provided by my son was being intentionally rejected by his seniors and as a result he wrote to the senior management but his complaints were ignored. He used to tell me about these things. A few months ago his managers also began abusing him on the basis of his caste. This was also reported to higher officials but no action was taken and my son was hurt mentally.”