POSH News: Kerala HC Says Gender Discrimination Can’t Be Considered Under POSH

Written by: Rajkanya Mahapatra

Every week we bring you a roundup of news and opinion on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, popularly called the POSH Act, from Indian media, focusing on workplace sexual harassment and its far-reaching effect on equality, equity and mental health of employees of diverse gender identities.

Here are five reported stories on POSH in the week of December 07, 2020:

1) A junior clerk working at a government power company in Gujarat had filed a complaint against her senior alleging that he made her sit in his office for long hours and used inappropriate language. The ICC had dismissed her complaint and thought it was ‘misconceived’. The complainant has filed an appeal against the dismissal.

The department, in question, at the PGVCL has since initiated departmental action against her for filing a ‘frivolous’ complaint.

Read the full story here.

2) A minor working as an assistant tailor at a fashion designer’s workshop in Mumbai filed a sexual harassment complaint against her supervisor alleging sexual harassment. The 17-year-old said that the accused would sexually harass her by making gestures at her and also sexually abused her when he held her to take a selfie.

The accused had asked for bail by submitting to the court TikTok videos of the complainant to show that she lived a ‘modern’ lifestyle, wore short clothes, and was responsible for the abuse.

To this submission, Special Judge M A Baraliya said, “Living a modern and stylish life cannot be a crime. Uploading videos on TikTok cannot be the reason to hold her responsible for the alleged incident. Accused is involved in a serious crime… earlier also, the accused has sexually harassed her. This is the case of sexual harassment of the minor girl at the workplace. It has to be looked at seriously. Releasing such a man on bail during the investigation stage would certainly send a bad signal to the society.”

Read the full story here.

3) A 38-year-old woman working at a gas distribution agency in Maharashtra filed a case of sexual harassment against her employer. She alleged that he was asking for sexual favor a year after she took up the job. The accused was aware of the dire financial situation of the complainant and tried luring her by offering her a flat and money.

When she rejected these advances, the complainant alleges that he began to harass her physically and mentally. The accused who is a Shiv Sena MP has been booked by the police under sections 354 (A) (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation), as was reported in the Times of India.

Read the full story here.

4) The Delhi High Court directed that for sexual harassment complaints against high ranking government officers, the majority of the ICC should not be from the same ministry/department.

Addressing a review petition that asked for the constitution of the ICC in an investigation against a secretary-level government officer to be made as per the directions of the Cabinet Secretary, Justice Pratibha M Singh at the Delhi HC ruled, “This would be in accordance with the purpose and spirit of the POSH Act [Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013]. Persons who have served under high ranking officers or in the same department may face difficulty in treating the complaint in an unbiased manner.”

Read the full story here. 

5) The Kerala High Court held that only advances or actions of a sexual nature can be considered under the POSH Act. Any action that is discriminatory on the basis of sex but does not have any sexual undertones will not be contemplated under the POSH Act.

Read the full arguments here.

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