What sexual harassment case? RK Pachauri back in charge at TERI after court lets him attend office

Five months on, Rajendra K Pachauri is reportedly back in office at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), even as an investigation against him in a case of sexual harassment filed by an employee continues. [caption id=“attachment_2256850” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  R K Pachauri. Image courtesy- AFP[/caption] According to a report in The Business Standard, Pachauri has taken over an active role as the head of TERI after a court passed an order allowing him to “physically attend” all offices of TERI except the head office and the one at Gurgaon. In February, he had resigned as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change following the accusations of sexual harassment. The Indian Express had then reported that he had also “proceeded on leave for the time being” from TERI. The Business Standard in its report quoted minutes from a meeting held on the day the court’s order was passed. The minutes said that the DG (Pachauri) chaired the meeting, and that the committee of directors extended a warm welcome to him. The report quotes Pachauri’s lawyer saying that he did not require re-appointment, as he was merely on leave. However, it is not clear why then was a court order required if he had not stepped down in the first place. In February this year, a junior associate at TERI filed a police complaint accusing Pachauri of sexual harrassment.