The election for a member in IIM Bangalore’s board of governors has outraged the international network of alumni of the B-schools over the inclusion of two professors accused in a caste-discrimination case in a panel of three candidates for voting.

The Global IIM Alumni Network has strongly protested the decision of IIM Bangalore director Rishikesha T. Krishnan, who is an accused in the same case of caste discrimination of a Dalit faculty member, for nominating two accused persons in the panel of three persons. The institute has defended the decision.

An inquiry by the Karnataka government has indicted Krishnan, dean Dinesh Kumar and six faculty members in the case filed by Gopal Das, an associate professor. An FIR was registered against all the persons. Karnataka High Court has stayed the proceedings in the FIR against the IIM-B officials.

The Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement of the state government had probed the matter and concluded that Das had to face continuous harassment as the institute disclosed his caste in mass emails. The inquiry found there has been a “denial of equal opportunity to the petitioner in the workplace environment and non-conformity to the statutory need to establish the institutional mechanism to address the grievances of the SCs and STs by IIM Bangalore”.

According to the IIM (Amendment) Act, there will be two faculty representatives on the board of governors, the decision-making body. The term of professor Rejie George as a member of the board of governors ended on December 23.

Anil Wagde of the Global IIM Alumni Network said the director should not have shortlisted the names of the accused professors. “The Mico Layout police station, Bangalore, has registered an FIR against the two faculty members in the case of discrimination. Members with clean a record and those who are not accused or guilty of any criminal case should be shortlisted for candidates for voting for membership in the board of governors,” Wagde said.

IIM-B spokesperson Kavitha Kumar said the institute had followed the rules while shortlisting the candidates.