Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan gets relief from SC/ST Act case

Mumbai: The Karnataka High Court has quashed an FIR registered against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and others under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The court termed the complaint “an abuse of the process of law” and granted liberty to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against the complainant.

Background of the Case
The FIR was based on a private complaint filed by D. Sanna Durgappa, a former faculty member of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who was terminated in 2014 following an internal inquiry into sexual harassment allegations. The termination was later converted into resignation as part of a settlement in 2015, where Durgappa agreed to withdraw all complaints and legal proceedings against the institution and its representatives.

Court’s Observation
The court observed that the present FIR contained similar allegations and was an abuse of judicial process. The allegations did not attract any offence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the matter was essentially civil in nature but had been wrongly given a criminal color.

Kris Gopalakrishnan expressed gratitude towards the court’s judgment, stating, “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.”