RK Pachauri quits PM panel, complainant to appeal his anticipatory bail

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted Rajendra K Pachauri's resignation from the PM's Council on Climate Change even as the complainant in the sexual harassment case against him decided to challenge the anticipatory bail granted to him early this week.

Govt sources told ET that Pachauri had submitted his resignation from the PM Panel on Friday evening, and a PIB release on Saturday afternoon confirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accepted his resignation.

ET had reported on February 18 that a 29-year-old female employee of TERI who is employed with director-general Pachauri’s office as research assistant had filed a police complaint alleging sexual harassment by the 75-year-old Pachauri for a period of over one year. Delhi Police registered an FIR the next day, and since then Pachauri has gone on leave from TERI. He has also quit as head of the prestigious UN Panel on Climate Change.

A Delhi court had granted him immunity from arrest until March 27 accepting his plea on health grounds, but the victim decided on Saturday to move a higher court against the interim anticipatory bail. The conditional bail restrains Pachauri from entering TERI premises, leaving the country without seeking court’s prior permission and bars him from contacting the complainant or witnesses in the case.

Delhi Police had argued in the court that Pachauri was using his “medical condition” as a “pretext” to avoid interrogation in the case. The Police, in its status report, had demanded his custodial interrogation and stated that if granted bail Pachauri can potentially influence the complainant and witnesses. Meanwhile, former Additional Solicitor General of India, Indira Jaising has written to HRD Minister Smriti Irani seeking removal of Pachauri as Chancellor of TERI University.

Citing provisions under which TERI was given a deemed University status and qualifications were laid down for the appointment of its Chancellor, Jaising has written that “in light of the grave charges of sexual harassment levelled against him by a woman colleague” Pachauri is “currently not fit to be considered an eminent educationalist or an eminent public figure”. The letter sent by Jaisingh on Friday reads “he has ceased to be eligible to hold the position of Chancellor under the regulations and hence must be removed from the position of Chancellor”.

The letter says that if he fails to resign, or if the founding trust takes no action against him, “you may be left with no option but to withdraw the ‘deemed University; status of the TERI University”.

Jainsing and five other female activists had earlier this week written to the governing council of TERI seeking Pachauri’s removal as its Director.