Introduction

The Supreme Court provided the first authorised decision of sexual harassment at workplace;
in case Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan. In India the Supreme Court acknowledged many great
international treaties that had not been transformed into municipal law and; It faces many
difficulties to transform it into law, that why in this case used judicial legislation (law
pronounced, proclaimed and declared by the judiciary)

What happened?
Facts:
Bhanwari Devi who was a social worker in Rajasthan was brutally gang raped by a number of
upper-class men as she had tried to stop a child marriage.
The incident took place in 1992.
Bhanwari Devi was determined to get justice so she lodged a case against the offenders
However, the accused were found not guilty by a trial court.
Several inspired women's groups and NGOs filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in the
Supreme Court under the collective platform of Vishaka asking the court to give certain
directions regarding the sexual harassment that women face at the workplace.
The result is the Supreme Court judgment which came on the 13th August 1997, and gave the
Vishaka guidelines.
The judgment of August 1997 provided the basic definitions of sexual harassment at the
workplace and provided guidelines to deal with it. It is seen as a legal victory for women's
groups in India.

Issue of the case –

The Vishaka Guidelines were a set of procedural guidelines for use in India in cases of sexual
harassment. It is declared as regulation by The Indian Supreme Court in 1997 and were
replaced in 2013 by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition
and Redressal) Act.
The Supreme Court had examined the case which highlighted the problem of Gender
Inequality, outraging the modesty of women, sexual harassment at the workplace and rape as
social issues of high intensity. Thus, violence against women.
What was the decision?
"Each such incident results in violation of the fundamental rights of Gender Equality and the
Right of Life and Liberty... A writ of mandamus in such a situation, if it is to be effective
needs to be accompanied by directions for prevention; as the violation of fundamental rights
of this kind is a recurring phenomenon. The fundamental right to carry on any occupation,
trade or profession depends on the availability of a safe working environment. Right to life
means life with dignity. The primary responsibility for ensuring such "safety" and dignity
through suitable legislation and the creation of a mechanism for its enforcement, is of the
legislature and the executive..."
With no domestic legislation, the Court undertook measures to enforce gender equality and
non- discrimination on the place of work.

Provisions in Law
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of women's human rights specifically:

Constitution of India
Article 14: Equality before the law
Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion race caste sex or place of
birth
Article 19 (1)(g): Right to practice one's profession or to carry on any occupation trade or
business
Article 21: Right to life and personal liberty

The court has referred to approval of India on (CEDAW) Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women which prohibits discrimination in the workplace
and outlines specific state obligations to end it:
Article 11(1) (a, f): The right to work and the right to protection of health and safety in
working conditions.
 DEFINITIONS
Sexual harassment as: Unwelcome sexually determined behaviour Physical contact and
advances.
Sexually coloured remarks.
Demanding or requesting for sexual favours.
Showing pornography.
Any other unwelcome conduct of sexual nature may be verbal or non-verbal or physical.
Spreading rumours about a woman's sexual relationship with anybody.
Anything at work that can place the working woman at disadvantage compared to other male
employees in her official career just because she is a woman - can be termed as sexual
harassment.

GENERAL POINTS
Gender equality includes protection from sexual harassment and the right to work with
dignity as per our constitution.
Extra risk for a working woman compared her male colleague is clear violation of the
fundamental rights of Gender Equality' & Right to Life and Liberty.
Safe working environment is fundamental right of a working woman.
In no way should working women be discriminated at the workplace against male employees.
(If a woman is, then it must be documented in company policies, for example limitation of
women in police and armed forces.)
GUIDELINES
In its judgment, the Court provided a set of guidelines for employers - as well as other
responsible persons or institutions - to immediately ensure the prevention of sexual
harassment. These guidelines were formulated since the then civil and penal laws in India did
not adequately provide for specific protection of women from sexual harassment in
workplace.
In accordance with Article 141 of India's Constitution (The law declared by the Supreme
Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.)
These guidelines were to be considered law until appropriate legislation was created:
1. Duty of the Employer or other responsible persons in work places and other institutions.
2. Preventive Steps
3. Criminal Proceedings
4. Disciplinary action
5. Complaint mechanism
6. Complaints committee
7. Worker's initiative
8. Awareness
9. Any third party
It shall be the duty of employer (and person in charge) to take all necessary and reasonable
steps, so as to assist the affected person (in terms of support and preventive action) No
prejudice of any rights available under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE

(PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE ACT
Replaced the Vishakha Guidelines
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,
2013 makes it illegal to sexually harass women in the workplace
This Act is only for women who are sexually harassed in workplaces.
The Act is for any woman who is harassed in any workplace. It is not necessary for the
woman to be working at the workplace in which she is harassed. A workplace can be any
office whether government or private.
The Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for remedy of
complaints. It also provides safeguards against false charges.

Even if there are no cases of sexual harassment at the moment, it is still necessary for the
committee to be set up (if you employ more than 10 workers) and for all rules to be followed
It talks about the different ways in which someone can be sexually harassed and how they can
complain against this kind of behaviour.
Aggrieved Women can be a
Domestic Worker
Regular/ Temporary/
Daily Wager worker
Student
Contract Worker/ Probationer/Trainee Apprentice/called by any other such name
Service Providers
Visiting a Workplace
For Voluntary basis

Places like:
Nursing Homes
NGOS
Government Organisations
House
Farms
Corporations
Educational Institutions
Companies
Employed directly/Through an agent
Hospitals
Cooperative Societies
Sports Facilities
The Act gives you a choice between dealing with the offender within the office or
approaching a court. If you wish, you can file a criminal complaint instead of approaching
your Internal/Local Complaints Committee.
Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or
branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required to constitute a Local
Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at the block level.
The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days. On
completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer as the
case may be, they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days.
The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.
The Complaints Committees are required to provide for resolution before initiating an
inquiry, if requested by the complainant.
The inquiry process under the Act should be confidential and the Act lays down a penalty of
Rs 5000 on the person who has breached confidentiality.
The Act requires employers to conduct educational programmes and develop policies against
sexual harassment, among other obligations.
Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-obedience with the provisions of the Act
shall be punishable with a fine of up to 50,000/-. Repeated violations may lead to higher
penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business.
Government can order an officer to inspect workplace and records related to sexual
harassment in any organisation
Under the Act which also covers students in schools and colleges as well as patients in
hospitals employers and local authorities will have to set up grievance committees to
investigate all complaints. Employers who fail to comply will be punished with a fine of up
to 50,000/- rupees.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ACT:

1, it hides those ladies operating within the defense force, that area unit mostly men -
dominated sectors.
2, the act seems to be gender biased since it solely protects ladies.
3, the act has wide scope for false allegations. There are high possibilities at the hands of girls
for her personal advantages.
4, the availability relating to the fixing of the financial compensation per the economic
potential of the person makes it discriminatory.

CONSEQUENSES
There has been not a proper implementation to these.
One of the major drawbacks being, that such laws and guidelines find their places only in law
books and few journals.
The common masses don't get to know about such judgments. The NCW study shows that
60% of working woman is still not aware of this.
In number of cases, it was found that the women who made complaints had to meet with an
enquiry about their own conduct and no enquiry was made against the person against whom
the complaint was made.
Lodging complaints often results in isolation of the women both by employer and by the
colleagues.
It results in increase and sometimes more violent harassment.
There is always a hesitation to initiate action against him.
Worst of all, the victim is usually pressured to take the complaint back through threat.
Witnesses also tend to show their back since they are threatened to remain quiet.
It was reported by the International Labour Organization that very few Indian employers were
compliant to this statute. Most Indian employers have not implemented the law despite the
legal requirement that any workplace with more than 10 employees need to implement it.
According to a FICCI-EY November 2015 report36% of Indian companies and 25% among
MNCs are not compliant with the Sexual Harassment Act, 2013. The government has
threatened to take stern action against employers who fail to comply with this law.

CONCLUSION
"While a murder destroys the physical frame of the victim, a rapist degrades and defiles the
soul of a helpless women"
The international brand UBER ran into a series of troubles in the last year. Ever since 2012,
the company has faced over 215 complaints of which 47 were directly regarding sexual
harassment.
On November, 2013, Tarun Tejpal, the Founder of the magazine Tehelka, was accused of
sexual assault by one of his reporters on two separate occasions.
This case dates to 2015.
Gayathri Balaswamy entered into an employment agreement, stating her appointment as a
Vice-President of the company Novasoft Technologies. However, within a few months she
resigned and lodged a criminal complaint against two officers of the company.

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