Court will not interfere unless the order of the ICC is shockingly disproportionate to the Act of the delinquent employee: Bombay High Court
Citation: Vidya Akhave v. Union of India and Ors. (Bombay High Court WP No. 196 of 2015)
Highlights:
- Court will not interfere in the punishment imposed by the ICC unless the order of the ICC is “shockingly disproportionate to the Act of the delinquent employee”.
- The Court was of the view that apart from displaying the penal consequences of sexual harassment and organising workshop, it is necessary to provide safeguards to assist women in relation to complaints of sexual harassment, sensitise male employees towards female employees and ICC must deal with the complaints in a transparent and expedited manner. There should be an Internal Committee in order to ensure that such instances are nipped in the bud.
Facts:
Writ Petition filed in order to direct the Respondent to take steps to ensure that employers comply with the law on sexual harassment. Petitioner had faced instances of sexual harassment from the Respondent, and claimed that after taking the issue to the Internal Committee, the punishment imposed on the accused was not as high as it ought to have been.
Judgement:
It was held that the Court did not wish to interfere with the decision and punishment laid down by the Disciplinary Authority as they felt that the punishment imposed was not shockingly disproportionate. However, the Court also said that the Internal Committee ought to operate in a transparent manner in order to ensure that the complaints of sexual harassment are inquired into seriously and without bias.
Rationale:
The common law states that the degree of punishment should be in parallel with the gravity of the offense. Through this case the Bombay High Court has stated that only when the accused of sexual harassment has been vested with a punishment disproportionate to his crime shall the Court interfere.
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