POSH Act: Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan

In 2013, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, commonly known as the POSH Act, was passed. The law created a procedure for dealing with sexual harassment at workplace accusations and punishments.

The POSH policy was established to safeguard women against workplace sexual harassment and to provide a safe and healthy work environment for women. As a requirement of the POSH Policy, any firm with over ten workers must form an Employee Complaint Commission in the prescribed manner to accept and resolve sexual harassment complaints from women in a timely and confidential manner.

Before the POSH Policy: Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan (1997)

The Vishaka judgment passed by the supreme court is a significant investigation concerning a woman’s sexual assault at her place of employment. Bhanwari Devi, who worked for the Rajasthan government’s rural transformation plan, was mercilessly gang-raped in 1992 due to her attempts to end the practice of child marriages. Unfortunately, the rape victim didn’t even receive justice from the authorities due to the politically powerful influence of the perpetrator’s family, and the rapists were permitted to walk free.

Under the Vishaka judgement, attorneys and women’s rights activists lodged public interest litigation (PIL) at the supreme court favouring employed women in India. In light of this significant concern, the supreme court recognised the major legislative gap and recognised sexual harassment in the workplace as a human rights abuse under the Indian Constitution.

The supreme court of India issued the “Vishaka Guidelines” regulating sexual harassment in the workplace in the case of Vishaka vs Government of Rajasthan in 1997. The court ordered these principles to be followed until legislation to fix the problem was passed. 

Provisions of the POSH Act

• The law describes harassment in work, establishes a complaint process, and protects from misleading and deceptive accusations.

• Sexual harassment includes “any one or more” of the following “unwelcome acts or behaviour” committed directly or by implication: physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

• At every office or branch with ten or even more employees, every employer is obligated to form an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

• The complaint handling committee has civil court-like jurisdiction and is expected to arrange for mediation before launching an investigation if the complaint requests it.

• Organisations that fail to comply with the policy’s terms will be subject to penalties.

J.S Verma Committee on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, 2012

After the Nirbhaya tragedy in December 2012, the JS Verma committee was established and provided suggestions for tightening legislation to combat crimes against women.

The committee’s suggestions were as follows:

• Sexual Harassment at Work Place, the Committee recommended creating an arbitration hearing rather than an effective grievance commission.

• The commission suggested that the arbitration not be a civilian lawsuit but rather adapt its method for dealing with each allegation to expedite the resolution of cases.

• Internally complaints may be ineffective because dealing with them internally may dissuade women from reporting accusations.

• Domestic employees will be included in the policy’s scope of application.

• The sexual harassment policy, according to the commission, is unsatisfying and does not represent the essence of the supreme court’s Vishakha recommendations, which were enacted in 1997 to combat sexual harassment and assault.

• The commission observed that any uncomfortable conduct should be viewed via the accused’s subjective perspective, thereby extending the meaning of sexual misconduct.

Conclusion

The POSH policy’s favourable influence as an efficient legal remedy for women confronting workplace sexual assault may be observed in the steadily increasing complaints from such situations each year. There’s been alarm among the wider populace as the number of incidents recorded of workplace sexual harassment increased by about 54% in 2018 and 14% in 2019. Still, industry professionals pointed out that such a rise in reporting is a positive sign. It indicates a higher level of knowledge amongst women concerning workplace sexual assault regulations since all organisations have followed the POSH policy’s guidelines and requirements.