The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) said in a statement on Tuesday that its director-in-charge Sahadeb Sarkar was removed from that role at the recommendation of its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which wants to ensure an impartial inquiry into an allegation of sexual harassment against him. The statement clarified that his removal was aimed at ensuring a fair enquiry and did not constitute the institute’s board’s opinion on the merits of the allegation.
The institute’s statement came two days after reports of Sarkar’s exit, and his replacement by Professor Saibal Chattopadhyay surfaced, although these attributed the development to differences between him and the chairperson of the institute’s board of governors, Shrikrishna Kulkarni.
To be sure, Sarkar is the third director, or director-in-charge to quit or be removed prematurely since 2021, when Anju Seth resigned as director, and also complained to the education ministry about Kulkarni’s interference. She was replaced by Uttam Kumar Sarkar, who resigned in August 2023, well before the end of his five-year term. At the time, media reports attributed his resignation to differences between him and Kulkarni. He was replaced by director-in-charge Sahadeb Sarkar, who, according to the statement, was removed after a decision to the effect was taken during a special meeting held by the institutes’ board of governors on January 6.
Sarkar denied the allegations. “I emphatically deny the allegations made against me. I am shocked with the baseless allegations. In any case this seems to be an official press release by the management and I am prevented from speaking to the press by the POSH rules 17(6) of the institute. I will address this appropriately at an appropriate forum,” he said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}Sarkar denied the allegations. “I emphatically deny the allegations made against me. I am shocked with the baseless allegations. In any case this seems to be an official press release by the management and I am prevented from speaking to the press by the POSH rules 17(6) of the institute. I will address this appropriately at an appropriate forum,” he said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}In a separate statement, the institute said, “The ICC of the Institute has been in receipt of written complaint under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”) against the Director-in-Charge Professor Sahadeb Sarkar. The ICC has ascertained that prima facie the complaint warrants a formal inquiry and communicated the same to the Board of Governors (BoG).”
The institute said that the ICC has expressed its concerns in proceeding with a free and fair inquiry, including its ability to access other witnesses including contract staff, and faculty and documents available with the institute, when Sarkar continued to be in charge and recommended his removal from the post and any other position wherein he has administrative charges, during the pendency of formal inquiry.
The institute further said in the statement that the board sought legal advice on the issue and examined the extant provisions of law, rules, regulations, government guidelines and instructions. “As per the legal advice received, particularly in view of section 12(3) of the POSH Act, the ICC recommendations are binding on the Institute.”
The institute also clarified in the statement that the acceptance of the ICC recommendation is not a reflection of the opinion of the board on the merits or demerits of the allegations.