Today, On 28th APRIL, The Karnataka High Court quashed the FIR against Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, observing that it was “an abuse of the process of law.” The Court found no grounds to proceed with the criminal case filed against him.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court dismissed an FIR filed against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and others under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The court described the complaint as “an abuse of the process of law” and permitted the petitioners to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against the complainant.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar issued the ruling on April 16, noting that the complaint was a “vexatious attempt to harass the petitioners.”
The FIR stemmed from a private complaint by D. Sanna Durgappa, a former faculty member at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who was dismissed in 2014 following an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations.
This termination was later changed to a resignation after Durgappa challenged it in the High Court in 2015. As part of that settlement, he agreed to withdraw all complaints and legal actions against the institution and its representatives.
Despite this agreement, Durgappa filed two additional FIRs, both of which were quashed in 2022 and 2023. The court noted that the current FIR contained similar allegations and constituted an abuse of judicial process.
In response to the ruling, Kris Gopalakrishnan stated,
“I have full faith in our courts and the justice system. This judgment reaffirms that misuse of legal provisions has no place in a fair and just system. I am grateful that the Hon’ble High Court has seen through the falsehoods and upheld the truth.”
The court further determined that the allegations did not constitute an offense under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, emphasizing that the matter was fundamentally civil but had been improperly framed as a criminal issue.
Additionally, the High Court allowed Kris Gopalakrishnan and the other petitioners to seek permission from the Advocate General to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Durgappa.
Durgappa, a faculty member from the tribal Bovi community at the Centre for Sustainable Technology at IISc, claimed that in 2014 he was wrongfully implicated in a honey-trap case, which resulted in his dismissal. He also alleged that he faced caste-based abuse during this ordeal.
At the time of the alleged incident, Gopalakrishnan was serving on the governing council of IISc. The complainant, Sanna Durgappa, who belongs to the Bovi community and previously worked as an assistant professor at IISc’s Centre for Sustainable Technology, claimed he was denied funding for a laboratory and a workspace.
Feeling aggrieved, Durgappa had requested financial support for research projects from the authorities at the Institute, specifically for academics from SC/ST communities.
However, he alleged that he was falsely implicated in two cases one involving alleged financial fraud and another concerning sexual harassment leading to his dismissal from IISc.
Durgappa subsequently requested an investigation by the State Legislative Assembly’s SC/ST committee, which took place in August 2017.
The investigation concluded that there had been no incidents of sexual harassment and that Durgappa had been targeted because of his Dalit status. Following this, Durgappa approached the court seeking action against the accused.
Senapathy Kris Gopalakrishnan is a co-founder of Infosys and a prominent technology entrepreneur in India. He has played a key role in shaping India’s IT industry and fostering innovation.
Balaram P is a former director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), known for his contributions to scientific research and academia. He has been instrumental in advancing education and research in India.
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