Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. POSH Scandal
• Sprouts SIT Probe: Truth Behind MOFSL 509 FIR & Chargesheet
• One Woman David vs A Corporate Goliath
Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098
In a special and exclusive report by Sprouts News Editor-in-Chief Unmesh Gujarathi, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. (MOFSL) is exposed for allegedly framing a woman employee using a fake Independent Inquiry Committee, violating the POSH Act. Despite her FIR & chargesheet under IPC 509 that’s against MOFSL, no charges have been filed against her. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) uncovers political interference, caste-based targeting, and legal manipulation, demanding a judicial probe into this alarming corporate conspiracy.
Fake ICC, Real Harassment: MOFSL Bypasses POSH Law
In a shocking revelation, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. (MOFSL) is accused of bypassing the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) by constituting a fake so-called Independent Inquiry Committee. This fabricated committee allegedly brushed under the carpet … False sexual misconduct proceedings initiated against a woman employee by MOFSL, Prajakta (name changed), despite no formal POSH complaint or legal basis.
Sources indicate that the company’s internal mechanism did not meet the legal requirements of an ICC as mandated by the POSH Act. Instead, a parallel process was adopted, misusing internal staff to manufacture evidence behind the woman’s back. These serious violations have prompted the Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) to call for a judicial probe, raising concerns over systemic misuse of corporate power and governance failure.
FIR & Chargesheet Filed by Woman, No Charges Against Her So Far
The woman employee eventually filed an FIR & chargesheet under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, citing false sexual shaming and sexual defamation as well as mental harassment. Despite the gravity of the allegations by MOFSL, no criminal charges have been filed against her in the past three years. The Bombay High Court has not quashed the FIR & chargesheet against MOFSL, underscoring the continuing legal validity of her complaint.
It was after Zone 5 DCP Pranaya Ashok sought a legal opinion that an FIR was finally registered. ACP Avinash Kanade also signed off on the woman’s statement as a witness. According to SIT sources, the case points to a pre-planned corporate criminal mahila utpeedan sexual conspiracy hatched by MOFSL — An unheard and disturbing example of how internal grievance systems can be weaponized in high-stakes business environments.
The woman reached out to top state officials over emails, including the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Office, CM’s PR team, CM’s Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and senior police personnel. Emails were sent to Dadar police by Anand Limaye and Sujata Saunik, CM’s Additional Chief Secretaries (Home), raising red flags over institutional inaction. Even after repeated follow-up attempts with NM Joshi Marg Police Senior PI Sunil Chandramore/Senior PI Arvind Chandanshive/Senior PI Nitin Mirkar as well as Dadar Police, no prompt action was taken.
High-Level Political and Police Interventions Suspected
Internal sources reveal a complex web of influence. Separately Zone 5 DCP Manoj Patil allegedly co-ordinated with Zone 3 DCP Akbar Pathan regarding the illegal recordings by MOFSL at St Regis Hotel after the FIR. Dadar IO Maanvir Pardeshi called NM Joshi IO Sachin Kamble. Dadar IO also met Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar and Maharashtra DGP Rajnish Seth after the Bombay High Court sent the matter to DGP MH.
Zone 5 DCP Manoj Patil accompanied the Dadar IO during these visits to the CP office. There have been political murmurs regarding the MOFSL & Kirit Somaiya equation in the past, with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut once claiming that Kirit Somaiya received ₹30 lakh from MOFSL — A connection Sprouts SIT believes deserves further scrutiny.
Despite such interventions, JCP (Law & Order) Satyanarayan Choudhary missed contacting Zone 3 DCP Akbar Pathan but allegedly did reach out to Zone 5 DCP Manoj Patil. The investigation’s slow pace and the alleged shielding of key executives raise doubts about the intent to pursue justice.
According to sources, MOFSL deployed a 24-member legal team solely for this case (including 3 Senior Counsels) in different Courts, attempting to weaken the prosecution, delay proceedings, and mentally exhaust the complainant. “They want the case to die down a slow, natural death or force the woman to surrender which she isn’t doing,” said a source close to the matter.
Caste-Based and Cultural Shaming by MOFSL Executives?
In one of the most appalling aspects of the case, MOFSL’s Associate Director Gaurav Manihar allegedly made derogatory comments about the woman’s caste, community, sabhyataa, cultural background, and American BPO work history. He reportedly questioned her “sanskaar” and criticized women’s “choice of clothing” in general these days, insinuating moral character flaws — A gross violation of both corporate ethics and human dignity. Precisely for which he has been booked in the chargesheet.
Moreover, during the Bombay High Court hearings, MOFSL described Associate Director Gaurav Manihar’s comments as “generic conversation,” dismissing the offensive nature of remarks made while he was demanding a resignation forcefully out of the woman in his cabin. This by no means is either a generic or an acceptable conversation with any woman.
In recorded police statements & chargesheet, MOFSL alleged that the woman sent objectionable photos, engaged in double meaning talks, sent double meaning texts, and had kissing related conversations with a junior call taking agent. However, none of these claims have been substantiated, even after three years.
The woman continues to fight, despite limited financial resources, emotional trauma, and institutional resistance. As per Sprouts SIT sources, her perseverance stands as an unheard act of resilience in India’s corporate legal history over the last 8 decades.
A Constitutional Failure: Where Are Her Rights?
This one of a kind landmark case highlights the failure of corporate governance, gender rights protections, and law enforcement accountability. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) underscores that no court or investigating agency has accused the woman of sexual misconduct, yet she continues to suffer from what she describes as “emotional gangrape by the corporate system.”
The complainant has questioned where her constitutional, birth, privacy, human, liberty, women and fundamental rights stand in this prolonged legal battle. MOFSL, a major financial institution, seems to be leveraging its deep legal bench, pockets deeper than Lord Kuber & Goddess Laxmi, ability to buy out the media, and uber powerful political connections to suppress one employee’s voice.
This case now stands as a watershed moment in Independent India’s corporate and legal history, with ramifications that could re-shape internal grievance protocols and POSH Act compliance standards across the private sector.
Sprouts SIT Recommends Judicial Probe
Given the gravity and scale of alleged violations — Ranging from fake ICC formation, abuse of power, political interference, and targeted sexual shaming & sexual defamation — The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) reiterates its call for an independent judicial inquiry. The broader question remains: If this can happen in one of India’s top financial firms with an Associate Vice President, what protections exist for the average female employee in the country’s corporate sector?
Editor’s Note:
This report includes verified testimonies, police records, and government correspondence reviewed by the Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT).
Also Read: Patil Medical College Scam: ₹100 Crore Fees Extortion at Pune.
Related Article: Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd’s POSH Act Breach Exposed in Defaming a Woman Employee.
What’s the Matter? – MOFSL Fake Sexual Shaming & Sexual Defamation Controversy
Prajakta, a now 40-year-old Associate Vice President at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. (MOFSL), has alleged that she was unlawfully suspended for 14 days initially on the basis of fabricated complaints accusing her falsely of making male colleagues “sexually uncomfortable.” She claims she was never even shown any complaints initially and was forcefully asked to either resign or MOFSL would make an entry into the system that she had either absconded or resigned. She was then suspended on-the-spot. Prajakta maintains that her conversations with her colleagues were consensual always but never ever sexual in nature.
• She says she reached out to Mumbai CP Sanjay Pandey’s office 3 years ago and the CP office called Dadar police. Later cops recorded her statement. She also accuses the company of mental harassment, emotional trauma, and driving her to a total nervous breakdown. The colleague, she alleges, confessed to Dadar Senior PI Mahesh Mugutrao that he was pressured into filing the complaint by his Senior Manager when factually he has no issues with the woman independently.
Dadar Senior PI Mahesh Mugutrao even gave the boy an option to file a police complaint against the woman if she indeed was sexually misbehaving & assured that the cops will look into it. The boy flatly refused to file any such complaint. This was confirmed by Dadar Senior PI Mahesh Mugutrao during a media interview 3 years ago.
• MOFSL CHRO/Executive Director/Board Member Sudhir Dhar flatly refused to come to the Dadar police station when the cops called him. MOFSL had responded 3 years ago stating that the suspension was based on complaints received and that an independent inquiry is in progress. Police 3 years ago said no cognizable offence has been found yet, and the case remains under investigation. When the fact is that 2 line copy-paste emails were created on-the-spot & the woman was suspended on the very same day.
• No complaints were ever brought forward against her in the past during her entire tenure. 6 additional false complaints were created after her suspension & behind her back. A fake inquiry committee was created quickly after the 14 day original suspension period was over. But this was only after the woman went to the cops & the media got involved.
After which MOFSL used another 3 weeks time to file both court cases & recorded sexual misconduct police statements behind the woman’s back. Only after 5 weeks the woman was even called for a fake inquiry committee hearing & a pre-planned termination that she had no clue of. She had gone to the police in the first place as MOFSL was least interested in responding despite her multiple attempts.
