Karnataka High Court stays FIR proceedings against IIM-B officials in caste discrimination row

The police booked them under Sections 3(1) (r) and 3 (1) (s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Sections 351 (2) and 351 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The FIR was registered based on the directions from Karnataka’s Social Welfare Department which recommended legal action against IIM-B officials after an inquiry conducted by the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) confirmed caste-based discrimination against Das by IIM B director and other professors.

Arun Chakravarthy, Additional Director General of Police, DCRE, noted in his inquiry report submitted to the Social Welfare Department on November 26, “Evidence indicates that Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director of IIM-B, publicly disclosed Dr. Gopal Das’s caste through a mass email, leading to allegations of humiliation. Additionally, both Dr. Krishnan and Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Dean (Faculty), are accused of contributing to workplace discrimination by denying Dr. Das equal opportunities. Furthermore, IIM-B reportedly failed to comply with statutory norms by not establishing an institutional mechanism to address grievances of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees, as mandated by law.”

Dr Das had also accused prominent cardiologist Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, who is also the chairman of the Board of Governors at IIM-B, along with others. However, when the DCRE initiated an inquiry, only Dr Shetty obtained a stay against the proceedings from the Karnataka High Court.

In a detailed statement, IIM-B had rejected all the allegations and said that Dr Das was denied promotion because of harassment charges filed against him by doctoral students and not on the basis of caste as alleged by him.

“Dr. Das’s allegations of discrimination against the Institute and its faculty arose only when his application for promotion was put on hold due to complaints of harassment lodged by some doctoral students against him. An inquiry conducted by IIMB, as per the rules, with a committee that included a reputed academic from the SC category from an eminent institution, found that the students’ complaints were justified. The DIGRC (Diversity & Inclusion Grievance Redressal Committee) found Dr. Das’s complaints of harassment and discrimination to be unfounded. It is important to note that all evidence regarding this matter has been provided by IIMB to the DCRE. However, based on news reports suggesting that the Institute has been indicted, it appears that this evidence has not been considered by the DCRE,” the institute said.