What Pachauri’s return to work means to women employees

Dr Rajendra Pachauri has been allowed to report to work by the governing board of TERI (The Energy And Resources Institute), which consists of eminent members of corporate India, both men and women. Indeed, one of the women, Kiran Majumdar Shaw, is reputed to be the wealthiest woman in India, and Naina Lal Kidwai, the first to break the glass-ceiling in the banking sector. Of what use is all this wealth and position, if these people cannot protect a woman employee in their own organisation?

The first and primary mistake or conscious failure of the board was not to suspend him when the incident was reported and conduct a disciplinary inquiry.

To hide behind the Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act is to show ignorance of law. There are service rules in all establishments and Dr Pachauri, too, must be subject to service rules. Why were the rules not applied to him? Why was he allowed to go on “leave under suspension”?

The subsequent explanations that the labour court granted him a stay on the findings of the ICC ((internal complaints committee) don’t hold. What was the board doing? Why were the findings not implemented with immediate effect and before he went to the court? And why has the board not done anything to get the stay vacated? It is the duty of the board to take legal action, not the duty of the courts.

The board of TERI has made a mockery of the law of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace. A law which was meant to protect the woman, has ended up protecting the harasser, it has taken away the rights of the victim under service laws, the right to have disciplinary action taken against the predator.

For this we must hold the board alone responsible, there was no stay against suspension from work. Corporate India has double standards, one for functioning abroad and one within the country. While Dr Pachauri was forced to resign form international bodies, but not form the state-funded TERI.

He continues to be the chancellor of TERI University, while Leena Srivastava has been removed as vice chancellor, immediately upon her return from leave.

The brave woman who took her case to the criminal court has a long way to go and perhaps will never get justice until the honchos of corporate India learn to respect women and stand on the side of justice.

(As told to Prerna Singh.)

[Rajendra Pachauri was removed from the post of chancellor by TERI. He has been replaced by Dr Ajay Mathur. He now returns as executive vice-chairman.]