Allegations of conflict of interest and financial anomalies Christopher Booker and
Richard North wrote an article for the
Daily Telegraph in January 2010 alleging potential conflicts of interest related to Pachauri's membership of the board of
ONGC The review stated: "No evidence was found that indicated personal financial benefits accruing to Dr Pachauri from his various advisory roles that would have led to a conflict of interest". The report explains its objectives and methodology and states that "Work done by us was as considered necessary at that point in time" and that it is based on the information provided by TERI, Pachauri and Pachauri's tax counsel. In a caveat the review explains that its scope was "significantly different from an audit and cannot be relied on to provide the same level of assurance as an audit". He had received only his annual salary from TERI, amounting to £45,000 a year, plus a maximum of about £2,174 from outside earnings. He received no payment for chairing the IPCC. The Guardian reported that the Telegraph paid legal costs of over £100,000. Pachauri welcomed the ''Telegraph's'' apology, saying that he was "glad that they have finally acknowledged the truth", and attributed the false allegations to "another attempt by the
climate sceptics to discredit the IPCC. They now want to go after me and hope that it would serve their purpose."
George Monbiot of
The Guardian stated his view that despite Pachauri being cleared by KPMG of conflict of interest and financial wrongdoing, false claims had been repeated about him by Richard North, the
Daily Mail and
The Australian.
Sexual harassment case On 18 February 2015, Delhi police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Pachauri on allegations of
sexual harassment,
stalking and
criminal intimidation. On 21 March, the
Delhi High Court granted him anticipatory bail. While in May 2015, Pachauri was found guilty of sexual harassment by an internal complaints committee (ICC) of TERI, the findings of the ICC have been challenged before the Industrial Tribunal on the grounds of violation of the
principles of natural justice. An article in an Indian magazine
The Caravan detailed the exploits of RK Pachauri during his tenure at TERI. In a statement, Pachauri said that the contents of the charge sheet are “allegations” levelled by the complainant and nothing has been “substantiated” after a year-long investigation. Pachauri has maintained: “From my perspective this was nothing but a very cordial and mutual relationship. There was a light and friendly tone to our correspondence, but at no stage did I ever hint at having a physical relationship nor did I in any way engage in sexual harassment”. Pachauri was granted regular bail from the trial court in July 2016. The court observed "The investigation of the case is complete. Charge sheet has already been filed. He was never arrested during the investigation in the instant case which goes on to show that his custody is not required for the purpose of investigation". ==Awards and recognition==