Karnataka High Court stays FIR against IIM-B director, faculty in caste discrimination case

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The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed the investigation into an FIR filed against IIM-Bangalore director Rishikesha T. Krishnan and seven faculty members for alleged caste-based discrimination and humiliation of associate professor Gopal Das. The FIR, registered on December 20 by MICO Layout police under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, accused the petitioners of disclosing the complainant’s SC status publicly and causing discrimination. Senior Advocate Udaya Holla, representing the petitioners, argued that the allegations arose after Das was denied promotion due to substantiated complaints of harassment by PhD students. Holla noted that Das had disclosed his caste in his bio-data, not the petitioners. The court had earlier stayed proceedings initiated in July 2024 before the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement against IIM-B officials, including chairman Devi Prasad Shetty, based on similar allegations.