Supreme Court dismayed at lack of implementation of POSH Act; orders Central, State government to ensure ICCs are constituted

The Supreme Court on Friday took strong exception to the fact that even a decade after the enactment of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 (POSH Act), there remained serious lapses in its effective enforcement [Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa and Others]..It was brought to the notice of the Court that as per the survey conducted by a national daily newspaper, out of 30 national sports federations in the country, 16 don't have an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) till date.A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli said that the same reflected a sorry state of affairs.The Court underlined that all the State functionaries, public authorities, private undertakings, organizations and institutions are duty bound to implement the POSH Act in letter and spirit."It is often seen that when women face sexual harassment at the workplace, they are reluctant to report such misconduct. Many of them even drop out from their job. One of the reasons for this reluctance to report is that there is an uncertainty about who to approach under the Act for redressal of their grievance. Another is the lack of confidence in the process and its outcome. This social malady needs urgent amelioration through robust and efficient implementation of the Act," the Court observed.To achieve this, it is imperative to educate the complainant victim about the import and working of the POSH Act, the bench added..Hence, it asked the Union Government and the State Governments to take affirmative action and ensure that the object behind enacting the POSH Act is achieved in real terms.The Court also issued the following directions to ensure that there is a robust and effective implementation of the POSH Act:- The Union of India, all State Governments and Union Territories are directed to undertake a timebound exercise to verify as to whether all the concerned Ministries, Departments, Government organizations, authorities, Public Sector Undertakings, institutions, bodies, etc. have constituted ICCs/LCs/ICs, as the case may be and that the composition of the said Committees are strictly in terms of the provisions of the PoSH Act;- It shall be ensured that necessary information regarding the constitution and composition of the ICCs/LCs/ICs, details of the e-mail IDs and contact numbers of the designated person(s), the procedure prescribed for submitting an online complaint, as also the relevant rules, regulations and internal policies are made readily available on the website of the concerned Authority/Functionary/ Organisation/Institution/Body, as the case may be. The information furnished shall also be updated from time to time;- A similar exercise shall be undertaken by all the statutory bodies of professionals at the apex level and the State level (including those regulating doctors, lawyers, architects, chartered accountants, cost accountants, engineers, bankers and other professionals), by universities, colleges, training centres and educational institutions and by government and private hospitals/nursing homes;- Immediate and effective steps shall be taken by the authorities/managements/employers to familiarize members of the ICCs/LCs/ICs with their duties and the manner in which an inquiry ought to be conducted on receiving a complaint of sexual harassment at the workplace, from the point when the complaint is received, till the inquiry is finally concluded and the report submitted;- The authorities/management/employers shall regularly conduct orientation programmes, workshops, seminars and awareness programmes to upskill members of the ICCs/LCs/ICs and to educate women employees and women’s groups about the provisions of the Act, the Rules and relevant regulations;- The National Legal Services Authority(NALSA) and the State Legal Services Authorities(SLSAs) shall develop modules to conduct workshops and organize awareness programmes to sensitize authorities/managements/employers, employees and adolescent groups with the provisions of the Act, which shall be included in their annual calendar;- The National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academies shall include in their annual calendars, orientation programmes, seminars and workshops for capacity building of members of the ICCs/LCs/ICs established in the High Courts and District Courts and for drafting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to conduct an inquiry under the Act and Rules..The Court cautioned that the POSH Act will never succeed in providing dignity and respect that women deserve at the workplace, unless and until there is strict adherence to the enforcement regime and a proactive approach by all the State and non-State actors."If the working environment continues to remain hostile, insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of women employees, then the Act will remain an empty formality. If the authorities/managements/employers cannot assure them a safe and secure work place, they will fear stepping out of their homes to make a dignified living and exploit their talent and skills to the hilt. It is, therefore, time for the Union Government and the State Governments to take affirmative action and make sure that the altruistic object behind enacting the PoSH Act is achieved in real terms," the Court observed..The Court, therefore, directed that a copy of the judgment be transmitted to the secretaries of all the ministries, Government of India who shall ensure implementation of the directions by all the concerned departments, statutory authorities, institutions, organisations etc., under the control of the respective ministries..Senior Advocate Bishwajit Bhattacharya with advocates Arul Jha, Pragyan Pradip Sharma, Sandeep Jha, NBV Srinivasa Reddy and PV Yogeswaran appeared for the appellants in the matter.Advocates Ruchira Gupta, Shishir Deshpande, Harshita Sharma and Deep Narayan Sarkar represented the respondents.[Read Judgment]