IIM Calcutta has removed Sahadeb Sarkar, the director-in-charge, following allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace against him, reports The Indian Express.

The action came after the institute’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) received a written complaint under the sexual harassment of women at the workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) against the now-former director-in-charge, Professor Sahadeb Sarkar.

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In a statement issued on Tuesday, the institute stated that it is investigating the allegations against Sarkar based on the recommendation of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), taking immediate action.

“The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the institute has been in receipt of a written complaint under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) against the then 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 statement by the institute read, as quoted by The Indian Express.

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Simultaneously, IIM Calcutta has appointed Professor Saibal Chattopadhyay, the next senior-most faculty member, to assume the responsibilities of Director-in-Charge. Sarkar’s removal from his position was undertaken to uphold “impartiality” and ensure adherence to the principles of natural justice during the inquiry process.

“IIM-C Board of Governors held a special meeting on 6 January 2024 and accepted the recommendation of the ICC that Professor Sahadeb Sarkar shall not continue in the office of Director-in-Charge and shall be removed from the said post and any other position wherein he has administrative charges in IIM Calcutta, during the pendency of formal inquiry before the ICC and any proceedings arising therefrom or incidental thereto,” it said.

This removal marked the third such instance in three years where an IIM director has left their post prematurely. Earlier Uttam Kumar Sarkar resigned in August 2023, just two years into his five-year term, and the resignation of then-director Anju Seth in March 2021, during the fourth year of her term.