Guidelines for sexual harassment of women at the Supreme Court framed; High Courts directed to follow suit

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Guidelines for sexual harassment of women at the Supreme Court framed; High Courts directed to follow suit
July 19, 2013   Updates   No comments A+ | a-
17th July 2013: Seeking to address sexual harassment of women in the Supreme Court premises, a bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices Ranjana Desai and A.R. Dave approved guidelines for the prevention and redressal of sexual harassment of women which will be applicable to the Supreme Court complex and the lawyers chambers. The guidelines were framed in a writ petition filed by two women lawyers, following an incident of sexual harassment of a woman in the High Court of Delhi, seeking directions to combat sexual harassment of women within the court premises.

The directions of the Supreme Court come sixteen years after its historic decision in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241, where it took note of the lack of the law in the area and directed all employers to adopt guidelines framed by it to address sexual harassment at the workplace.

The Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Regulations, 2013, approved by the Court, create a Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) a majority of which will be women, and will consist of seven to thirteen members including judges of the Supreme Court, senior members of the Supreme Court Bar, an elected woman member of the Advocates on Record Association, an elected woman member of the Supreme Court Clerks Association and an outside member nominated by the CJI.

The GSICC will look into complaints of sexual harassment against all women in the premises of the Supreme Court, barring those who are governed by the Supreme Court service regulations, as they are already covered by previous regulations. The GSICC shall have the powers to admonish the respondent, publish such admonition in the court precincts, and prohibit the respondent from harassing the victim. In addition, the GSICC may recommend to the CJI to pass orders debarring the respondent from entering the Supreme Court precincts for a specified period extending to a maximum period of one year, in appropriate cases to recommend filing of a criminal complaint and / or disciplinary complaint before the concerned disciplinary authority governing the respondent.

The orders of the CJI and the GSICC shall be final and binding on the parties. Any person aggrieved by an order passed (or not passed) by the GSICC or recommendation made by the GSICC to the CJI, or non implementation of such orders or action may make a representation to the CJI who may set aside or modify the order passed or recommendation made.

The guidelines were drafted by a committee, appointed by the Court, comprising Senior Advocates Fali S. Nariman (chairman), Anand Grover and Indu Malhotra along with advocates Vibha Dutta Makhija, Binu Tamta, Meenakshi Arora and Asha Menon of the National Legal Aid Services Authority.

Full text of The Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2013, can be downloaded from www.lawyerscollective.org 

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