At 1,400 pages long, the charges announced today against Rajendra Pachauri, former head of the UN IPCC, appear daunting to defend. Indian police have brought formal charges against him following a complaint by a former colleague where the two both worked. The charges, which include sexual assault and harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation, come “more than a year after a female employee in her late twenties filed a complaint accusing him of sending inappropriate texts and emails.” The harassment and assault occurred at the think-tank TERI, where Pachauri is still employed but on leave.
Pachauri, 75, faces jail time if convicted of the expansive charges. Prashant Mendiratta, a lawyer, said they “will need time to examine the entire document” but it shows the state has provided enough evidence to move forward. He added that he hopes the police can prove the charges against him in court.
Maintaining his innocence, Pachauri has been out on bail and denies that he harassed the complaining victim. He says both his emails and mobile phone were “hacked” and that he would defend the charges against him. His lawyer, Ashish Dixit, said: “Obviously he is maintaining his innocence. The charge sheet doesn’t make any difference because he has not given his side of the story.”
Having been elected and reelected to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for years, he was forced to resign as chairman after allegations arose of sexual harassment by a colleague at New Delhi-based The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The IPCC and Al Gore were were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Pachauri, who hold’s a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Economics and was a railroad engineer before heading up the IPCC, has been a chief promoter of the U.N.’s catastrophic narrative that excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rapidly warming the planet, though datasets contradict that narrative. Aside from his position at TERI, Pachauri “holds dozens of paid advisory and director posts in global green enterprises that benefit from the very climate policies that [he] developed and promoted at the U.N.”
A court had initially issued a restraining order against Pachuari, forbidding him from entering the institute. A few months later, the court said he could return to work but he had to stay away from the alleged victim. Then last month, facing outrage over his promotion to Executive Vice Chairman, he was put him on indefinite paid leave. TERI’s website shows he still holds that position but also “on leave”.
