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External Member of ICC under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act

 

Provision for an external member for PoSH

As per Section 4 of the PoSH Act:

  • A senior female employee should head the PoSH Committee,
  • At least half of the PoSH Committee members should be women, and
  • One member should be from an NGO or an association that works for women’s empowerment. They can also be a person who is familiar with issues related to sexual harassment.

Many  PoSH Practitioners and organizations have relied on Rule 4 of the Act - The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, shortly known PoSH Act),  according to which , a “person familiar with issues related to sexual harassment” is an expert in such issues, including 

  • A social worker with at least 5 years of experience in social work. Such social work should create favorable conditions for women’s empowerment. It should address workplace sexual harassment.
  • A person who is familiar with labor, service, civil, or criminal law.


However, this is incorrect and has lead to confusion and complex litigations.

The Delhi High Court in the matter of Ruchika Singh vs. Airfrance has settled the position:-

 Air France contended that the independent person appointed is a lawyer with expertise in deciding labour issues. His curriculum vitae is on record for confirming the averments made with regard to the criteria for his selection. According to Air France, the requirement of a person familiar with issues pertaining to sexual harassment under Section 4(2)(c) of the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act is to be read with Rule 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 which provides that this would be a person who is familiar with labour, service, civil or criminal law. 

However, Air France is clearly in error in relying on Rule 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 which is to be applied only to Section 7(1)(c) of the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act which deals with the constitution of the Local Complaints Committee and not the ICC as in the instant case.



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