High Court slaps a penalty of INR 50,000 on Medanta Hospital for not having an Internal Complaints Committee

In the recent judgment of Mrs. Arvinder Bagga & Ors. v. Local Complaints Committee, District Indore & Ors., W.P. No. 22314 of 2017 the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has slapped a penalty of Rs. 50,000 on the Medanta Hospital, Indore for not having the Internal Complaints Committee(ICC).

Constituting an Internal Complaints Committee is a mandatory requirement under Section 4(1) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace ( Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The court also directed the hospital to pay a compensation of Rs 25 Lacs to the complainant for failing to address her complaint of sexual harassment.

The order was passed in concurrence with the report that was filed by the Local Complaints Committee, Indore.

In a case that was referred to the local committee, it was found that the complainant was subjected to sexual harassment and the hospital failed to address it. It was found that the complainant had not complied with the conditions given in the POSH act.

The hospital had failed to address the humiliation and harassment faced by the complainant. Also, when the complainant tried to raise her voice by bringing the issue to the notice of the Managing Director of the hospital, her case was not acknowledged and was terminated from her services. The complainant, senior marketing manager at the hospital was sexually harassed by her immediate senior but since there was a lack of internal complaints committee she registered a complaint with Women Welfare Department of Women and Child Development Ministry on 18 March 2016.

On July 3, 2016, the local complaints committee recorded the statement of the complainant. Subsequently, the local complaints committee on August 18, 2017, passed an order against the hospital. After getting an adverse order from the Internal Complaints Committee the hospital challenged the said order before the High Court on December 14, 2017.

The complainant also alleged that when she brought the matter of sexual harassment before the Managing Director of the Hospital, she was terminated for her job and no heed was paid to her complaint.

While passing the order, the court noted that the Medical Superintendent passed comments on her outfits and he would make her sit in the cabin creating obstruction and causing harassment in technical and operational support.