LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals and various opportunities. Before, the verdict of Supreme Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, women experiencing sexual harassment at workplace had to lodge a complaint under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with the criminal assault of women to outrage women's modesty, and Section 509 that punishes an individual or individuals for using a word . (CIVIL) NO.___ OF 2013 UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF RAMBO In the matter of Article 19 and Article 21 of Constitution of Rambo It is a fact that India has been ranked first. In the absence of sufficient evidence and with the help of the local MLA Dhanraj Meena, all the accused managed to get an acquittal in the Trial Court. This campaign was subjected to disapproval and ignorance by all the members of the village, even though they were aware of the fact that child marriage is illegal. Fali S. Nariman the amicus curiae of the Honble court along with Ms. Naina Kapur and Ms. Meenakshi provided assistance to the Honble court in dealing with the said case. v State of Rajasthan, which deals with aspects of sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The police department at first tried to dissuade them on filing the case on one pretext or other but to her determination; she lodged a complaint against the accused. The respondent assisted the Honble court in figuring out an effective method to curb sexual harassment and in structuring the guidelines for the prevention of the same. Apart from previous articles mentioned, few articles which also have relevance are Article 15, Article 42, Article 51A and Article 253. Vishaka and Ors. However, apart from Constitutional Law I am also interested in Criminal laws, Human Rights Law and Arbitration laws. So, did India really achieve independence? violence against women. Case analysis : Vishaka & Ors. The employers should take all reasonable steps to prevent happening of sexual harassment at workplaces. Gender Equality finds place in Fundamental Rights enshrined under Article 14, 19 & 21. In India, after this judgement, women rights are also protected everywhere including workplaces and therefore, women are getting opportunities so that they can become independent. This was a welcome step by the SC where it finally provided the victims of such incidents a law through which they can seek remedy. Guidelines made by government for protection of working women are as follows: For this purpose, sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as: Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where under the victim of such conduct has a reasonable apprehension that in relation to the victims employment or work whether she is drawing salary, or honorarium or voluntary, whether in government, public or private enterprise such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors., (1997) 6 SCC 241 . This argument of state was based on the basic principle of Indian Legal System i.e. Judicial Overreach instead it is the best example of judicial activism. Any act that creates a hostile work environment be it by virtue of cracking lewd jokes, verbal abuse, circulating lewd rumours etc. Even after facing so much criticism, Bhanwari Devi, with her incessant determination to get justice, managed to lodge a complaint. The judgment has only directed what seems appropriate for employer in order to maintain the constitutional principles of equality and liberty. The Complaints Committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its member should be women. They put forward their argument that the indecent acts of sexual harassment of women at Workplace violate the fundamental rights enshrined under Article14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. Supreme Court of India. The main objective of this Act is to prevent and prohibit the sexual harassment of women at workplace. Kirpal JJ. The Honble court took reference from various international conventions and laws in the absence of domestic law, then connected it to the law of the land and gave birth to a new law altogether. The police had tried all possible ways to avoid filing any complaint against the accused which resulted in a delayed investigation. The family decided to go ahead with the marriage. & public sector bodies must include rules/regulations prohibiting sexual harassment. 180 OF 2011 , Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241 at 249, People's . Ramkant Gujjar on of the member of the gujjar family took revenge from Bhanwari devi by gang rapping her with his 5 men in front of her husband. (AIR 1997 SUPREME COURT 3011)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vishakha_and_others_v_State_of_Rajasthan&oldid=1141110962, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from April 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 11:47. KK Luthra Memorial Moot Court Competition, 2016: Best Memorial - Respondents. Verma C.J., Sujata V. Manohar & B.N. Introduction 2. Noting that in some cases, the psychological stigma of reporting the conduct of a co-worker might require a great deal of courage on the part of the victim and they may report such acts after a long period of time. ), and B. N. Kirpal (J.) Vishaka & ors. Whether sexual harassment at the Workplace amounts to a violation of Rights of Gender Inequality and Right to Life and Liberty? Citation: (1997) 6 SSC 241; AIR 1997SC.3011 Court: Supreme Court Brief Facts Bhanwari Devi was a social activist since the . The Vishakha judgment along with its importance also contains the rationality in the sense that it does not over-pressurize the employer in constructing redressal mechanism. She was employed as a . V. The State of Rajasthan specifically defined the actual meaning of Sexual Harassment which states that any uninvited or unwanted physical touch or conduct or any definable sexual comment or showing of pornography comes under the term 'Sexual Harassment'. The Government of India has also made an official commitment, inter alia, to formulate and operationalize a national policy on women which will continuously guide and inform action at every level and in every sector; to set up a Commission for Womens Rights to act as a public defender of womens human rights; to institutionalize a national level mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Platform for Action. Vishaka case of sexual harassment at workplace is a case of landmark judgment by Supreme Court of India. The progress made at each hearing culminated in the formulation of guidelines to which the Union of India gave its consent through the learned Solicitor General, indicating that these should be the guidelines and norms declared by this Court to govern the behavior of the employers and all others at the work places to curb this social evil. These organizations came together and raised their voice to attain justice, which resulted in the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). the power of parliament with respect to amending the Constitution is absolute, unlimited and unfettered. In case such an act takes place, then the organization must consist of a mechanism to provide prosecutorial and conciliatory remedies. The employer shall take adequate steps in order to spread awareness about the social evil. Further, the female employees should feel a sense of equality in the atmosphere. Thus, the power of this Court under Article 32 for enforcement of the fundamental rights and the executive power of the Union have to meet the challenge to protect the working women from sexual harassment and to make their fundamental rights meaningful. V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. The guidelines suggest that the compliance mechanism should ensure time-bound treatment of complaints, but they do not suggest that a report can only be made within a short period of time since the incident occurred. This was first observed by the Supreme court in the landmark case of Vishaka vs. state of Rajasthan [1]. Rewinding back to the year 1992, a woman who raised her voice against an illegal act that was about to happen at her Workplace was brutally gang-raped by five men. SPREADING AWARENESS To raise sexual harassment issues, employer-employee meetings must be held. However, the marriage was successful in its completion even though widespread protest. Trial court acquitted the accused as there was not sufficient evidence against them but Bhanwari devi with other female social worker filed a writ petition in Supreme court which has been successful and now very well known as Vishaka guidelines. It laid its focus on the enforcement of the fundamental rights of women at the Workplace under the provisions of Article 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India, it also raised the issue of the need for protection of women from sexual harassment at Workplace. Duty of the Employer or other responsible persons in work places and other institutions: It shall be the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in work places or other institutions to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required. At that point of time there was no law to prevent & punish commission of such offences therefore, majority of the incidents went unreported and hence unpunished. Owing to the need for distinct legislation in this regard, the Supreme Court ruled the Vishaka guidelines in this case for the protection of women from sexual harassment in the workplace. Where such conduct amounts to a specific offense under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law the employer shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law by making a complaint with the appropriate authority. These guidelines had the effect of protecting female liberty in the employment establishment so that they could feel an atmosphere of equality. by the committee informing the former of the development regarding the said issue in the organization. Such aforesaid dignity could and should be protected with suitable guidelines. case, one can figure out that though India tried to overcome the social evils of gender inequality and sexual harassment by providing employment and provisions of law, it did not succeed in taking social responsibility for an equally safe working environment. Justice Sujata V. Manohar and India in competing with the liberal world succeeded in providing employment to women in order to achieve gender equality however, it failed miserably to provide a healthy environment for such employment. The court stated that these guidelines were to be implemented until legislation is passed to deal with the issue. Kamagar Union v. UOI (1981) 1 SCC 568. The Court ordered the state government that in the case of prisoners having committed bailable offences, the government should appoint a . However, the examiner did not mention any commission of rape in the report but rather mentioned the age of the victim. Citation : 2023 Latest Caselaw 1181 Raj Judgement Date : 30 January, 2023 Download as PDF. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The committee must be adequate in providing relief to the victim with appropriate counseling facilities. The employer must take appropriate actions/measures to spread awareness on the said issue. The trial court acquitted the accused but she didnt lose hope and seeing her determination all female social workers gave their support. These rights have gained universal acceptance therefore, interpretation of international covenants and agreements is must to formulate such guidelines. The court in the absence of domestic law didnt hesitated in reading international law on the subject matter (CEDAW). APPROPRIATE DISCIPLINARY ACTION If there is an occurrence of the violation of service rules, appropriate disciplinary action must be taken. The rules/regulations of govt. Vs State of Rajasthan and Ors. It has been seven decades since Mahatma Gandhi has spoken the above words and they still make sense when compared to the present-day scenario of women being subjected to sexual harassment, rape, gender discrimination, domestic abuse, eve-teasing, and so on in our country. Why? The Vishakha judgment together with its importance also contains the rationality within the sense that it doesn't over-pressurize the employer in constructing a redressal mechanism. REDRESSAL COMMITTEE Such a redressal mechanism or more precisely such a complaint committee must have women as more than half of its members and its head must be a woman. This case really has its importance in enforcing the fundamental rights of women. The court ruled that violation of gender equality is violation of Right to life & liberty mentioned under Article 21. case changed the outlook towards sexual harassment cases as serious issues, unlike the past when such cases were looked upon as petty matters. Without prejudice to the generality of this obligation they should take the following steps: (a) Express prohibition of sexual harassment as defined above at the work place should be notified, published and circulated in appropriate ways. Duty of the Employer or other responsible persons in work places and other institutions. MEASURES FOR PREVENTION Employers or persons in charge of the workplace must take preventive measures such as an express prohibition of sexual harassment in the form of notifications or circulars, penalties by the government against the offender, appropriate work conditions in respect of hygiene, health and leisure. It is a fact that India has been ranked first[1] among the worlds most dangerous countries for women in the year 2018. It referred to the Beijing Statement of Principles on the independence of Judiciary[3] in the LAWASIA region, to function as a guardian of citizens rights and independently make laws in the absence of any legislative framework. With the increasing awareness and emphasis on gender justice, there is increase in the effort to guard such violations The incident reveals the hazards to which a working woman may be exposed and the depravity to which sexual harassment can degenerate. Vishal Damodar Patil vs. Vishakha Damoda. They all filed a writ petition in Supreme Court of India under the name Vishakha. The court held that such violation therefore attracts the remedy under Article 32. Why is it so hard for a woman to achieve the same freedom and opportunities that a man gets with not much of an effort? 2009) Gupta and Dighe, At every workplace, the employer and other authoritative people are duty bound to prevent sexual harassment and setup processes to resolve, settle or prosecute such cases. v/s state of Rajasthan [1]is a case which deals with the evil of Sexual Harassment of a women at her workplace. It was stated by the Honble Supreme Court that in the absence of law of the land, the assistance could be rendered from international conventions and statues to the extent that it does not clash with any law of India or do not violate the Indian Constitution. This led to boycotting Bhanwari Devi and her family. Signup for our newsletter and get notified when we publish new articles for free! The employers and person in charge will also report on the compliance with the aforesaid guidelines including on the reports of the Complaints Committee to the Government department. The court in Vishakhawas called upon for the enforcement of the fundamental rights mentioned under article 14, 19 & 21. They put forward their argument that the indecent acts of sexual harassment of women at Workplace violate the fundamental rights enshrined under Article14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. 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