Harassment Case: Rajendra K Pachauri quits PM's council on climate change

Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, booked on charges of sexually harassing one of his colleagues in Teri, has withdrawn from the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change.

Earlier, he had also quit as chair of the United Nation’s International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), and proceeded to go on leave from TERI where he is the director-general.

A top government official told ET that Pachauri had sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Friday saying he was opting out from the PM’s Council.

ET was the first to report the charges against Pachauri in its edition dated February 18. The 75-year-old obtained anticipatory bail on health grounds earlier this week. The Delhi Police had booked him under Sections 354,354A, 354D and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on February 18, after the complaint lodged by the 29-year-old complainant who worked in his office as a research assistant.

A Delhi Court, while granting him anticipatory bail, till March 27, had restrained Pachauri from entering the TERI premises, leaving the country without seeking court’s prior permission and asked him not to contact the complainant or any witnesses in the case.