Facing flak, TERI's executive vice chairman R K Pachauri on Friday proceeded on leave from two other bodies -- TERI and its governing council, which also appointed former Competition Commission chief Ashok Chawla as the new chairman in an apparent damage control measure.
Amid outrage over his appointment as TERI's Executive Vice Chairman, R K Pachauri has proceeded on leave on Thursday and will skip TERI University's convocation on March 7 after a group of students refused to receive degrees from him.
In a letter to the officials, the students write, "We would like to make it clear that we are not in a position to accept our degrees from Pachauri at the convocation (to be held on March 7)."