The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea filed by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment holding that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) does not apply to complaints made by women advocates to bar councils. [Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association v. Bar Council of India & Ors]

The Special Leave Petition (SLP) questions the Bombay High Court’s July 7, 2025 ruling in UNS Women Legal Association v. Bar Council of India, which held that advocates are not covered by the POSH Act as they are not employees of bar councils. The Court had also dismissed the plea to constitute permanent Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) within the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) and the Bar Council of India (BCI).

A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan sought responses from the BCI, the BCMG, the Union of India and the State of Maharashtra.

Justice Nagarathna noted the type of complaints that are brought before the Supreme Court's own Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC). She stated that the Committee must still process these communications and pass orders, even when they do not fall squarely within issues of sexual harassment.

Despite not being a party in the case before the High Court, SCWLA contended that the ruling has broader implications for Indian women lawyers since it denies them access to POSH Act statutory procedures.

The petition challenges the High Court’s finding that women advocates can raise complaints under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, 1961, which deals with disciplinary action for professional or other misconduct.

According to SCWLA, Section 35 lacks features mandated by the POSH Act, such as confidentiality, fixed inquiry timelines, external committee membership and provisions pertaining to interim relief or compensation. Further it is said that Section 35 does not provide for a mechanism intended to address sexual harassment.

"The impugned judgment has further deprived the class of women lawyers or practicing legal professionals to avail the remedy under this special legislation, which was enacted specifically for protection of women and for creation of a safe-and growth-conducive work environment for women, irrespective of the category of their workplace," said the petition.

The petition refers to earlier Supreme Court decisions on workplace harassment to argue that statutory and professional bodies are expected to maintain complaint redressal structures that align with the POSH Act framework.

According to the petition, the Supreme Court's own GSICC Regulations provide protection for individuals who are not strictly employees, such as volunteer solicitors. The SCWLA said that this shows an institutional awareness that safety measures can function outside of conventional employment classifications.

The plea also states that bar councils across India follow varying practices. It highlights that the Bar Council of Delhi has established a POSH Committee and a digital system for filing complaints. SCWLA argues that other bar councils should adopt uniform structures to avoid differences in protection available to women advocates in different jurisdictions.

Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani and Advocates Sneha Kalita, Ragini Juneja and Shaurya Mishra are representing the SCWLA.