Ag. Sunderam looked awkwardly at his jacket sleeves, his desk, his paperweight, his stack of visiting cards (Managing Director, Naytrix Limited), and then up at the ceiling. Ravi Sood, President, hr, and B. Rangachary, President, Market Development, also looked up-as if there was some solution to their problem being beamed into the ceiling lights by some mystical force. A series of 0s and 1s, perhaps, some form of code appropriate for a software services firm. Shruti Sanglikar, their legal advisor, though, was somewhat more American in her habits, having grown up in New York. She rolled her eyes.

The air was dense. Nobody was comfortable with the issue that the four of them had convened in the corner office to resolve. So when the office boy entered the room with a refreshment tray, there was an almost audible sigh of all-round relief.

"So what'll it be-coffee, tea or me?" asked Sanglikar, with impishly ironic charm.

There was a moment of shock, and then, laughter. Good, thought Sanglikar, happy to have levelled the score on the kind of person she was. Confident, witty, game for male-domain humour and thus the perfect advisor to run a frank discussion with.

"When a lawyer asks something like that," said Sood, equally in jest, "it's best to exercise your right to remain silent."

"Or say that in this business, we only believe in binary choices," added Rangachary, intellectualising the joke, as always.

"Right," Sunderam said, "so that we can get another cartoon in the Bay Area Tribune, this time featuring our company, and with our newly-appointed hero giving this lady a binary choice on her job."

The boss' sarcasm was effective in placing the problem in sharp relief. Naytrix's rival New World Software had summarily sacked its star project-bagging performer, the chief of its highly successful foreign operations, Shardul Swamy, on charges of sexual harassment filed by a local employee in the US. Swamy wanted to plead innocent, but the issue never went to trial, with New World Software preferring an out-of-court settlement of a million dollars instead. Barely a week later, a prominent headhunter had recommended to Naytrix that Swamy be made the chief of its US operations.

Rangachary saw 'opportunity' spelt out in bold. "The man is innocent until proven guilty," he said, "that's fact one. And we could gain at least $100 million in additional business if we take him on, that's fact two. He'll deliver the bucks. Why should we muddle our minds with anything else?"

"Sood," said Sunderam, "what's hr's take?"

"We have a rigorous multiple-check recruitment process," Sood replied, "and only a judicial verdict against a candidate counts as a blemish for the character review portion. The lady who was making the allegations has no locus standi here in this office. As an hr chief, I could shrug and say, 'heck, I don't know this lady from Adam', but when this man applies for a job, I am obliged to give him a fair chance to convince us of the value he can add."

"And that's a lot of value," said Rangachary, "I can tell you that."

"Besides," added Sood, "the charges have been dropped, so that's that. We're hiring his services in the future, and all that is relevant from the past is the data that indicates job competence."

"Is that the legal view too?" asked Sunderam.

"You are free to hire anybody who is a free man, as per the law," said Sanglikar, "and Naytrix would not be held accountable for any breach of law prior to his employment here."

There was a moment's silence. Everyone exchanged glances. Everyone knew what the problem was. Sunderam was the first to address it. "There is also this little thing about risk," he started, "the risk of behaviour lapse."

"That," said Sanglikar, "is the real decision to be taken, I'd say. This is not about law, it is about good hiring judgement. Sensitivity to sexual harrassment has risen in this industry. Everyone has been following this case. Any lapse into illegal work behaviour could potentially wreak havoc at Naytrix, especially if some wiseguy lawyer were to argue that we could not have been oblivious to the scandal at New World, and have thus offered conscious sanctuary to him. That could indict our recruitment process too."

"Are you saying that some woman from somewhere whom we have no reason to either believe or disbelieve should be able to ruin a high-performer's career for good?" asked Rangachary, a trifle irritated.

"Trial or no trial, public perceptions count for a lot," said Sood, "The media..."

Rangachary cut him short. "Does the media know if the man is really guilty?" he asked, "I'm just saying we should give him a chance. Never mind what those semi-informed clods out there think. We're talking business here. Millions in extra revenue. Even the settlement was a piffling one million, for heaven's sake."

"Oh, is that..." said Sanglikar.

"No. Oh, no. Sorry. I don't mean I'm willing to pay off the potential complainants for extra revenue. I mean, on balance, he's a good worker, and we have no evidence he's guilty."

"This case is way too high-profile," said Sanglikar, "and his female co-workers might get the creeps having him around. There are more cases of sexual predators prowling around offices than innocent guys being framed, bear that in mind as well."

"The solution, then," said Sunderam, "is to ensure he cannot go beyond his business brief."

"People do slip, you know," said Sood.

"We can keep all banana peels out of the way," said Sunderam, "and have the guy under surveillance."

"But if we try sacking him on pre-emptive grounds," said Sanglikar, "we might end up in a bigger crisis than New World did. There would be even flimsier evidence against his misdemeanour. We don't want to look silly"

"Better safe than sorry, you'd say?" asked Sunderam, looking at Sood now.

"I think we should explore ideas on how to harass-proof the place, and see how to get good work out of him. I mean, even if he's guilty, what's the chance he hasn't repented privately? He's a grown man. Will he really do it again?"

"You never know," said Sanglikar, "people take sexual offences quite lightly, and half the reason is that the limits of their power domains are still unclear to some people in authority."

"Meanwhile," said Sunderam, "business conditions are tough, and we need another $100 million in revenue-fast."

Question: should Naytrix hire Shardul Swamy?

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