AUTHOR: MUSKAN ALI, IIMT COLLEGE OF LAW, GREATER NOIDA

The fear of sexual harassment is the biggest barrier between women and their success, which effects their willingness to work and making their contribution less in the growth and development. The case of Visakha v. State of Rajasthan highlighted this fear and then Supreme Court gave some guidelines to ensure the safety of women at workplace – Visakha Guidelines. These guidelines gave way to the enactment of POSH Act, 2013 in India, whose motive is to protect women and prevent sexual harassment, ensuring safety at workplace.

KEY WORDS- Sexual Harassment, Workplace, Internal committee, Local committee. 

The objective of this research article is to address and analyze the following issues: -

1. What are the provisions which ensure protection of women at the workplace?

2. why we need POSH Law when we have IPC to govern the sexual harassment cases in India?

The methodology used in this article is analytical, analyzing the POSH Law and its working and progress.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, was enacted to ensure safe working environment for women and to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment, in India. 

SEXUAL HARASSMENT- 

The Section 2(n) of the Act defines “sexual harassment” as physical contact, demand for sexual favours, sexual remarks or showing any obscene graphics, etc. 

WORKPLACE- 

The Section 2(o) of POSH Act defines it as-

• department, undertaking or unit→ established, owned, controlled→ wholly or substantially→ funded by funds provided→ directly or indirectly→ by the appropriate government, local government.

• corporation→ established under Central Act or State Act or authority→ owned or controlled → government or local government.

• any private sector or private venture, hospital and nursing homes.

• sports institutions, stadium, sport complex.

• place visited by an employee.

• dwelling place or house, etc.

WORKING COMMITTEES- 

• Internal Committee (IC), if a workplace has 10< employees, constituting a chairperson – senior women employee, 2 employee members, 1 external NGO/expert member, minimum 50% members should be women, with tenure of 3 years, given in Section 4. 

• Local Committee (LC) at District level, if there are <10 employees. The Committee will be responsible to protect domestic workers in the informal sector as per Section 6.

PROCEDURE – 

• The Section 9 states that within 3 months a complaint must be filed and this can only be extended by another 3 months. The complaint will be written or assisted to be written.

• It will be the choice of the complainant if she wants to conciliate but no monetary settlements can take place, as per Section 10. 

• This Section 16 talks about confidentiality. The name of the complainant and the accused must not be revealed in any case. 

• Principle of Natural Justice- Inquiry must be done fairly and timely and it must be ensured that the accused must not face any irrelevant accusations that can harm his reputation and name in the society. 

• Written notice must be sent to parties for hearing, for inquiry. Inquiry must be completed within 90 days and reported to employer within 10 days, The employer must act within 16 days, detailed documentation must be maintained with witness statement and digital evidence. 

• Section 14 declares if the complaint is false then the complainant must be punished.

EMPLOYER’S DUTY- 

The employer must conduct a regular awareness program and assist the victim in filing a criminal case if the complainant needs help by providing paid leaves, mentioned under Section 19 of this Act.

INTERIM RELIEF- 

Some interim reliefs are mentioned in Section 12, such as –

• transfer of parties

• leave up to 3 months for woman

• change of work location

• other protective measures

• other protective measures. 

PENALTY FOR NON-COMPLIANCE- 

The Act, under Section 26, mentions penalty for non-compliance, which includes fines up to ₹50,000, higher fines for repeated violations, and cancellation or non-renewal of licenses. 

Certain directions were given by the Supreme Court for better working of POSH Act in Aureliano Fernandez v. State of Goa, which are as follows: -

1. Internal Committee mandatory, details of which must be displayed clearly in the workplace.

2. Orientation programs and workshops for employees.

3. Confidentiality of complaint, inquiry and complainant and accused.

4. Local Committee at district level to protect domestic workers.

5. Annual report submitted to district office.

6. Conducting periodic audits to ensure compliance in department, organization and institution, by government.

The answer to the question – Why did we need the POSH Act when we had IPC in India? is not complicated. The foremost reason is the definition of sexual harassment in POSH Act is much wider than the definition mentioned in IPC. The Internal Committee and Local Committee set up under POSH Act, helps to resolve cases on ground level rather than taking them to courts and waiting for years for judgement. There is no definition of workplace in IPC which means there is no specific grievance mechanism that exists under IPC. The POSH Act covers every subject to ensure women’s safety and confidentiality so the POSH Act proved to be more helpful.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, has been doing an effective work for making a safe working environment and ensuring the safety of the female working women. The act not only concentrates on protecting women but also maintains the dignity of the accused if the complaint is false as it is punishable under this Act. The natural justice principle upholds the constitutional principles like justice, equality and right to be heard. The contribution of the judiciary is remarkable when it comes to proper implementation and work is still going on. 

1. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

2. Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan AIR 1997 SC 3011.

3. Aureliano Fernandez v. State of Goa (2023) 5 SCC 799.

4. Vallabh Vidyanagar, The POSH Act, 2013: The Law against Sexual Harassment at Workplace in India.