Mon Apr 28 14:34:02 UTC 2025: **Karnataka High Court Quashes FIR Against IISc Officials**
Bengaluru, April 28, 2025 – The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a First Information Report (FIR) filed against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, IISc director Govindan Rangarajan, and 14 others. The FIR, filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, stemmed from a complaint by former IISc faculty member Sanna Durgappa, who belonged to the Scheduled Castes community.
Durgappa had accused the officials of atrocity. However, the court found that Durgappa himself had been dismissed from service in 2014 for repeated sexual harassment. His dismissal was later converted to a resignation in 2016 after he agreed to an amicable settlement and promised to withdraw all complaints against the institute and its personnel.
The court deemed Durgappa’s subsequent FIR a vexatious attempt to harass the petitioners, noting that the allegations were similar to those previously withdrawn. The court ruled that the FIR did not constitute an offense, arising instead from a finalized civil dispute. The court granted the petitioners permission to pursue contempt of court proceedings against Durgappa for violating his earlier undertaking.
First Piper 