Former head of U.N. climate panel charged with sexual harassment in India

NEW DELHI, March 1 (UPI) -- Rajendra Pachauri, former head of the United Nations' climate change panel, was formally charged by a court in India for sexual harassment on Tuesday.

Last year, a female employee of The Energy and Resources Institute, or TERI, environmental think-tank accused Pachauri of sexual harassment, which a second employee also alleged in February.

Pachauri has denied the allegations amid widespread outrage. He stepped down from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2015.

Pachauri faces charges linked to sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation. A magistrate for an Indian court is expected to hear the case on April 23.

In 2007, Pachauri collected the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC for its work related to the risks and causes of climate change. The award was shared with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, an environmental activist.

The prosecutor's office said 23 people, including friends, have been named as prosecution witnesses. Pachauri also faces a charge of using a word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.