#MeToo: Tata Sons to end contract with Suhel Seth over allegations of sexual harassment

The holding company of the Tata Group, Tata Sons, said that they will be terminating Suhel Seth’s contract as their consultant on Monday, October 29. The existing contract ends on November 30 and a spokesperson of the company told ANI that they will not be renewing Seth’s contract.

The reason behind this decision is because of the sexual harassment accusations against him.

Tata Sons took the decisions to end the contract with Counselage, Seth’s firm, with a months notice over the allegations against Seth according to an NDTV report.

The decision is one that comes in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

Seth has been accused of sexual misconduct by six women including model Diandra Soares, filmmaker Natashja Rathore, journalist Mandakini Gahlot and writer Ira Trivedi.

According to a report in the Indian Express, a 33-year-old journalist Mandakini Gahlot has also described an incident involving Seth at the 12th Regulators’ and Policymakers’ Retreat held at the Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort and Taj Holiday Village in Goa from July 13-17, 2011.

"Suhel reached out -- I figured for a quick hug -- and planted a big sloppy kiss on my mouth, I felt his tongue inside my mouth. I was so stunned and I said something like 'Suhel, you can't do that'."

Another woman who accused Suhel Seth of sexual harassment and molestation in #MeToo accounts was model and ex-Big Boss contestant Diandra Soares.

Soares recalled how Seth once misbehaved with her at a party in New Delhi and tried to forcibly kiss her. "I was dancing on a couch & out of nowhere Suhel Seth shoves his f*****g tongue down my mouth. I immediately bit his tongue & bit it really really hard with all my might & anger," Soares wrote in a Facebook post.

Filmmaker Natashja Rathore had a similar story: "You then threw yourself at me although I was clearly uncomfortable. You shoved your tongue down my throat even when I resisted -- I whacked your head and said 'behave yourself'. You put your hand into my kurta and grabbed my breast."

The first account to come out against Seth was by a 26-year-old woman in Mumbai, and shared on Twitter by a friend. She said Seth had sent her inappropriate messages in August 2010 “when I was a 17-year-old girl”.