Karnataka High Court quashes SC/ST Act case against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan

The Karnataka High Court recently quashed a criminal case registered against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, former Indian Institute of Science (IISc) director Balaram P and fourteen others under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act)..Justice Hemant Chandangoudar termed the complaint filed by a former IISc faculty member "a vexatious attempt to harass the petitioners" after he (the complainant) was terminated from service..The judge noted that two similar criminal complaints filed by the complainant had already been quashed by the High Court earlier, after it was noted that a civil dispute was being given a criminal colour. The Court added that the latest complaint too largely contains the same allegations. "The filing of a third complaint with similar allegations is clearly a vexatious attempt to harass the petitioners for having terminated the complainant’s service, which was subsequently converted into resignation. Therefore, the dispute between the parties is essentially civil in nature, albeit presented with a criminal color," the April 16 ruling said.The Court proceeded to quash the latest criminal complaint, terming it to be an abuse of the process of law. .The now-quashed first information report (FIR) was registered by the Sadashiva Nagar police in Bengaluru on January 28 this year on a direction from the City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru. It arraigned 16 people as accused, including Gopalakrishnan.The trial court's direction was passed on a private complaint filed by a former IISc faculty member alleging that he was subjected caste-based discrimination before being terminated from his post. At the time of the alleged incident, Gopalakrishnan was a member of the governing council of IISc..The complainant, Sanna Durgappa, who belongs to the Bovi community, used to work as an assistant professor at IISc’s Centre for Sustainable Technology. He claimed that he was denied funds for a laboratory and a sitting area at IISc.Aggrieved, he made a representation before the authorities at the Institute asking for funds to support research projects by academics belonging to the SC/ST communities. He claimed that he was falsely implicated in two cases, one involving allegations of financial fraud and another involving allegations of sexual harassment. Subsequently, he was dismissed from the IISc, Durgappa claimed in his complaint.Durgappa then sought an investigation by the State Legislative Assembly’s SC/ST Committee, which was conducted in August 2017. The investigation report concluded there had been no instance of sexual harassment and Durgappa had been singled out because he was a Dalit.He then moved the sessions court seeking action against the accused. The Bangalore court ordered FIR against the accused, prompting them to move the High Court. On January 29, the High Court stayed the FIR. Now, the Court has quashed the FIR altogether. .The Court also noted that the complainant's dismissal from service was earlier converted into a "resignation" following a settlement between him and IISc's representatives before the High Court. One of the conditions for this settlement was that the complainant would withdraw the complaints he had filed against IISc's representatives before various fora. Durgappa, however, pursued a criminal complaint against IISc's representatives even after this settlement, and despite the release of terminal benefits to him. Therefore, it added that the petitioners (IISc's representatives) are at liberty to take steps to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against Durgappa..Senior Advocate SS Ramdas and Advocate Syed Kashif AL appeared for the petitioners. Advocate Manoj SN appeared for the complainant. High Court Government Pleader R Patil represented the State. .[Read Judgment]