A,B,C,D.

CASE SUMMARY
Vishaka & Ors. Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.
(1997) 6 SCC 241
Landmark case on Sexual Harassment

Mahatma Gandhi oncesaid - "The day a woman can walk freely on the roads
at night, that day we can say that Indiahas achieved independence."

NAME OF THE CASE VISHAKA & ORS. V STATE OF RAJASTHAN &, ORS.
CITATION OF THE CASE (1997) 6 SCC 241
NAME OF THE COURT HONBLE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

PETITIONERS IN THE CASE VISHAKAAND ORS.

RESPONDENTS IN THE CASE THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND ORS.

Chief Justice J.S. Verma,

HONBLE BENCH Justice Sujata V. Manohar and
Justice B.N. Kirpal.
JUDGMENT PASSED ON 13th AUGUST 1997

Facts of the case

Bhanwari Devi, a woman belonging from Bhateri, Rajasthan started working
under the Women's Development Project (WDP) run by the Government of
Rajasthan, in the year 1985. She was employed as a 'Saathin' which means
friend' in Hindi.

In the year 1987, as a part of her job, Bhanwari took up an issue of attempted
rape of a woman who hailed from a neighbouring village. For this act, she gained
full support from the members of her village. In the year 1992, Bhanwari took up
another issue based on the government's campaign against child marriage. 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.
In the meantimne, the family of Ram Karan Guriar had made arrangements to
perform such a marriage, of his infant daughter. Bhanwari, abiding by the work
assigned to her, tried to persuade the family to not perform the marriage but all
her attempts resulted in being futile. The family decided to go ahead with the
marriage.
On 5th May 1992, the sub-divisional officer (SDO) along with the Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) went and stopped the said marriage. However, the
marriage was performed the next day and no police action was taken against it.
Later, it was established by the villagers that the police visits were a result of
Bhanwari Devi's actions. This led to boycotting Bhanwari Devi and her family.
Bhanwari also lost her job amid this boycott.

On 22nd September 1992, to seek vengeance, five men i.e, four from the above
mentioned Gurjar family- Ram Sukh Gujar, Gyarsa Gujjar, Ram Karan Gujjar,
and Badri Gujar along with one Shravan Sharma had attacked Bhanwari Devi's
husband and later brutally gang-raped her.

The police had tried all possible ways to avoid filing any complaint against the
accused which resulted in a delayed investigation. Even after facing so much
criticism, Bhanwari Devi, with her incessant determination to get justice,
managed to lodge a complaint. The medical examination was delayed for fifty-two
hours. However, the examiner did not mention any commission of rape in the
report but rather mentioned the age of the victim.

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. But this
acquittal resulted in a huge backlash from many women activists and
organizations which supported Bhanwari. These organizations came together and
raised their voice to attain justice, which resulted in the filing of a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL).

The PIL was filed by a women's rights group known as Vishaka'. 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
 sexual harassment at
raised the issue of the need for protection of women from
Workplace.

Issues
violation of
1. Whether sexual harassment at the Workplace amounts to a
Rights of Gender Inequality and Right to Life and Liberty?
the absence of
2. Whether the court could apply international laws in
applicable measures under the existing?
harassment is
3. Whether the employer has any responsibility when sexual
done to/by its employees?

Petitioners arguments
filed by the Vishaka' group
A writ petition, seeking the writ of mandamus was
other social
which comprised of various women's rights activists, NGOs, and
of sexual
activists. They put forward their argument that the indecent acts
enshrined
harassment of women at Workplace violate the fundamental rights
petitioners
under Article 14, 15, 19(1) (g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. The
brought the attention of the Hon'ble court to the loophole that the legislation has
regardingthe provision of a safe working environment for women. They requested
the Hon'ble Court to frame guidelines for preventing sexual harassment at
Workplace.

Respondent's arguments
The learned Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the respondents (with their
consent) in this case did something unusual i.e., supported the petitioners. The
respondent assisted the Hon'ble court in figuring out an effective method to curb
sexual harassment and in structuring the guidelines for the prevention of the
same. Fali S. Nariman - the amicus curiae of the Hon'ble court along with Ms.

Naina Kapur and Ms. Meenakshi provided assistance to the Hon'ble court in
dealing with the said case.

Judgment of the case

The lack of a law that would prevent sexual harassment and provide women with
a safe working environment was acknowledged by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of
India. Section 354 and 354A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 were to be referred in
any case of sexual harassment but these provisions were not specific to the issue
at hand. This made the Hon'ble court realize the need for proper and effective
legislation that would deal with sexual harassment.

The Honble Court took reference from the international conventions to proceed
with the case. It referred to the Beijing Statement of Principles on the
independence of Judiciary in the LAWASIA region, to function as a guardian of
citizens' rights and independently make laws in the absence of any legislative
framework. Then the Hon'ble court took reference from the provisions of
Convention on the Elimination of AII Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). They were :
Article 11 (1) (a) & () - which states that the State takes all appropriate measures
to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of
employment.
Article 24 - which states that the State shall undertake to adopt all necessary
measures at the national level aimed at achieving the full realization.

The Honble Supreme Court framed the guidelines to prevent sexual harassment
at the Workplace, known as Vishaka Guidelines, that were to be treated as law
declared under Article 141 of the Indian Constitution. These guidelines were the
foundation for The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

EMPLOYER'S OR oTHER EQUIVALENT AUTHORITY'S DUTY - Employer or

other responsible persons are bound to preclude such indecent incidents of
sexual harassment from happening. In case such an act takes place, then the
organization must consist of a mechanism to provide prosecutorial and
conciliatory remedies.
DEFINITION - For this purpose "Sexual Harassment" means disagreeable
sexually determined behavior direct or indirect as
Physical contact and advances;
A demand or request for sexual favours;
Sexually coloured remarks;
Showing pornography;
Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.
MEASURES FOR PREVENTION Employers or persons in charge of the

workplace must take preventive measures such as an express prohibiton O

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.
PROCEEDINGS IN CASE OF MISCONDUCT -If the offenses committed are the
1860, then the
ones that fall under the purview of the Indian Penal Code,
employer is bound to take prosecutorial action by complaining to the appropriate
authority.

APPROPRIATE DISCIPLINARY ACTION If there is an OCCurrence of the

violation of service rules, appropriate disciplinary action must be taken.

mechanism
REDRESSAL MECHANISM - An organization must have a redressal
to address the complaints. This must be irrespective of the
fact that whether the
any other law as
act constitutes an offense under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, or
such.

REDRESSAL COMMITTEE - Such a redressal mechanism or more precisely

half of its members
such a complaint committee must have women as more than
counseling
and its head must be a woman. The committee must comprise of a
facility. It is also acceptable to collaborate with NGOs or any such organisations
which are well aware of such issues. A report must be sent to the government

annually on the development of the issues being dealt by the committee.

SPREADING AWARENESS - To raise sexual harassment issues, employer

employee meetings must be held. The employer must take appropriate
actions/ measures to spread awareness on the said issue.

Critical analysis
Through the Vishaka Case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India took a great step
towards the empowerment of women by issuing guidelines to curb sexual
harassment at Workplace. The Hon'ble 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
efforts put in by the Indian judiciary, in this particular case to safeguard women
is commendable. The Hon'ble Court through the Vishaka Guidelines provided
strong legal-platform for all the women to fight against sexual harassment boldly.
The Vishaka case changed the outlook towards sexual harassment cases as
serious issues, unlike the past when such cases were looked upon as petty
matters.

Like every coin has its two sides, based on the Vishaka 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.
Even after having the law on our side to safeguard women, there are many
incidents of sexual harassment taking place regularly which get unreported.
As asmall examnple, let us assume that a woman finally gets her dream job in a
software company. The woman is subjected to sexual harassment due to some
reason. She wants to go and lodge a complaint against the one who harassed her,
but she chooses not to do it. She is worried that if she complains, then she might
not be able to continue working in the company because her family members
might stop her. Why? Cause the family fears that the woman has been harassed
once, so she mnight be harassed again. The concern of people even today is that
the female of their house must learn to adjust until she is in a "safe" environment
according to their parameters. Not that the person who harassed her must be
punished for what he has done and to see to it that he does not repeat it. Though
there are remedies available with the law, for women facing sexual harassment at
Workplace, the "safety" is not assured even after so many years.
 Scope Applicable to all workplaces in India

Unwelcome sexually deter mined behavior

Physical contact and advances

Definition of Sexual Harassment Sexually colored remarks

Showing pornography

Any other unwelcome physical, verbalor non-verbal

conduct of sexual nature

Creation of mechanisns for resolution, settlement or

prosecution of acts of sexual harassment
Preventive Steps
Vishaka Guidelines Awareness and dissemination of the guidetines to all
employees

Complaint mechanism with a Complaints Committee at

the workplace

Procedures for Complaint and Redressal Committee to include a third party/NGO familiar with the
issue

Time-bound treatment of complaints

Basis for the SexualHarassment of Women at Workplace

(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

Implications Influenced organizational policies and training programs

Promoted gender sensitivity and legal compliance in

workplaces
 Vishaka (NGO)
Parties Involved
State of Rajasthan

Sexual harassment at the workplace

Legal Issues
Lack of formal legal framework for protection

Defined sexual harassment

Supreme Court's Guidelines
Provided procedures for redressal and prevention
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan
Emphasis on creating asafe working enviranment for
Women
Key Points from the Judgment
Based on Article 14, 19. and 21 of the Indian Constitution
and international conventions

Influenced future legislation, including the Sexual

Harassment of Women al Workplace Act, 2013
Implications
Raised awareness and set standards for workplace
behavior across India

Lega