Nearly ten years after its enactment, the Supreme Court on Friday issued a number of directives to ensure the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as the PoSH Act. The court stated that "it is disquieting to note that there are serious lapses in the enforcement" of the law.
Aureliano Fernandes, a former head of the department of political science at the Goa University, filed an appeal against the Bombay High Court's decision upholding his termination from service due to allegations of sexual harassment. The appeal was being decided by a bench of Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.
The court noted the report in a "national daily newspaper" that 16 of the 30 national sports federations do not have an internal complaints committee as required by PoSH before granting Fernandes' appeal and referring the case back to the complaints committee.
Interestingly, according to a study , just half of the national sports federations have sexual harassment panels.
Five federations, including wrestling, lack an ICC, four lack the required number of members, another six lack the required external member, and one federation has two panels but none with an independent member.
"This is indeed a sorry state of affairs and reflects poorly on all the state functionaries, public authorities, private undertakings, organisations, and institutions that are duty bound to implement the PoSH Act in letter and spirit," Justice Kohli wrote for the bench in reference to the report (without naming the newspaper).
The court emphasised how "being a victim of such a deplorable act not only dents the self-esteem of a woman, but it also takes a toll on her emotional, mental, and physical health." A significant portion of them "reluctantly report such misconduct" and even "drop out of their job."
The court stated that this was caused by the "uncertainty" surrounding who to contact in accordance with the Act and the "lack of confidence in the process and its outcome."
According to the court, until "there is strict adherence to the enforcement regime and a proactive approach by all State and non-State actors," PoSH will not secure "dignity and respect" for women in the workplace.
The court ruled that women would be afraid to leave their houses in order to earn a living in a decent manner and would be forced to the fullest extent possible to use their gift and talents.
In order to "fulfil the promise that the PoSH Act holds out to working women all over the country," the court issued the following significant instructions:
In order to determine whether all Ministries, Departments, Government organisations, authorities, Public Sector Undertakings, institutions, and organisations have internal committees that "strictly" adhere to the PoSH Act, it was requested that the Centre, states, and Union Territories "undertake a time-bound exercise."
According to the court, the website of the relevant authority makes information about the structure and membership of these committees, the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of the designated person(s), the process for submitting an online complaint, and the relevant rules, regulations, and internal policies readily available.
The court ordered "a similar exercise be undertaken by all statutory professional bodies at the apex level and the state level (including those regulating doctors, lawyers, architects, chartered accountants, cost accountants, engineers, bankers and other professionals), by Universities, colleges, educational institutions, and by government and private hospitals/nursing homes."
The court urged the authorities to "take immediate and effective steps" to "familiarise" committee members with their "duties and the proper way to conduct an inquiry."
Additionally, it required them to routinely hold orientation programmes, workshops, seminars, and awareness campaigns to better the skills of committee members and to inform women's groups and employees about the Act.
In order to do this, the bench ordered the National Legal Services Authority and State Legal Services Authorities to create modules for conducting workshops and organising awareness campaigns to inform employers, employees, and teenage groups of the Act's provisions.
It further requested that orientation programmes, seminars and workshops for improving the ability of members of complaint committees in the High Courts and District Courts be included in the yearly calendars of the National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academies.
It stipulated that all central ministry secretaries and chief secretaries of the states and union territories should receive the order in order to ensure compliance.
It concurred with Senior Advocate Bishwajeet Bhattacharya, who represented the petitioner, that the case's conclusion in just 39 days was a flagrant violation of natural justice norms.
Fernandes' appeal against a decision of the Executive Council of Goa University (Disciplinary Authority) that terminated his employment and barred him from future employment was denied by the Bombay High Court. The top court reversed this High Court decision after finding that the inquiry proceedings had been conducted improperly and in breach of natural justice standards.
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