BDO India said to have fired senior partner after internal probe finds him guilty of sexual misconduct

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BDO India, a top accounting and advisory firm, has terminated the services of a senior partner accused of sexual harassment by a former female employee, acting on the recommendations of an internal committee that probed the matter, the complainant told Moneycontrol.

The firm neither confirmed nor denied that the senior partner had been fired and asserted its “zero-tolerance policy towards any form of harassment.” It declined to comment on the panel’s recommendations, citing confidentiality norms.

“The internal committee has concluded its inquiry… We follow the law in both letter and spirit. Hence, we uphold the confidentiality mandate and would not be able to disclose any further information,” BDO India said in response to queries from Moneycontrol.

Also Read: BDO India, top accounting firm, gets sexual harassment complaint from former employee

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013, commonly known as the POSH Act, provides for confidentiality to be maintained regarding the contents of complaints and inquiry proceedings in such cases. However, Section 16 adds that information regarding justice secured by a victim under this act can be disseminated.

The complainant said she felt vindicated by the recommendations of the internal committee and the firm’s decision to end its relationship with the former partner.

The complainant said she was informed earlier this month that Vineet Rustagi, the senior partner whom she had accused of sexual misconduct, was no longer with BDO India, in conformity with the internal committee’s recommendations.

The firm paid Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the complainant and this amount was deducted from the salary of the accused partner, she told Moneycontrol.

Rustagi was a partner and leader holding the portfolio of shared services and outsourcing. Rustagi confirmed to Moneycontrol that he and the firm have separated.

BDO India appears to have scrubbed Rustagi's profile from its website. Rustagi seems to have erased his LinkedIn profile.

The case

The case came to light after the complainant went public with her ordeal on social media in late 2021. In addition to instances of sexual harassment, the complainant alleged her working environment was no longer conducive and she was forced to resign.

After quitting in the last week of October, she sent a legal notice to Rustagi on November 15, claiming compensation for sexual harassment and job loss. She also flagged the sexual harassment complaint to the firm’s managing partner.

The internal committee took note of the issue and got in touch with the complainant in December to probe the complaint. The woman provided the internal committee with all the documentary evidence related to her complaint but refrained from participating in the proceedings.

What next?

The complainant told Moneycontrol that while the internal committee’s findings against Rustagi give her a sense of relief that her complaint did not go unheard, she still wants to pursue the police complaint she lodged.
The police complaint, filed in her hometown in Assam, pertains not only to the allegation of sexual harassment but also to criminal intimidation alleged by the complainant.