INTRODUCTION: The Supreme Court of India handed down a landmark decision in Vishaka & Ors. v State of Rajasthan, which deals with aspects of sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The Supreme Court issued the well-known Vishaka rules, which mandated that both the commercial and public sectors create processes to address sexual harassment accusations.
In India, sexual harassment is known as “Eve Teasing,” and it is defined by behaviors such as making suggestive or typical comments or jokes, unwelcome touching, making sex appeals, sending sexually explicit images, text messages, or emails, and discrediting someone because of their sex. As a result, sexual harassment infringes on women’s basic right to gender equality, which is established in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, as well as their fundamental right to life and dignified existence, which is codified in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
COURT: Supreme Court Of India.
BENCH: Chief Justice J.S. Verma, Justice Sujata V. Manohar, And Justice B.N. Kirpal.
FACTS OF THE CASE:
>In 1985, Bhanwari Devi, a woman from Bhateri, Rajasthan, began working for the Rajasthan Government’s Women’s Development Project (WDP).
>As part of her job in 1992, Bhanwari took up an issue based on the government’s campaign against child marriage. The locals were unaware of the situation and encouraged child weddings despite the fact that it was against the law.
>Meanwhile, Ram Karan Gurjar’s family planned to conduct such a marriage for his young daughter. Bhanwari tried unsuccessfully to persuade the family not to execute the marriage, but her efforts were in vain. The family decided to carry on the wedding.
>The sub-divisional officer and the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) went to the reported marriage on May 5, 1992, and stopped it. The marriage was, however, performed the next day, and no police action was taken. The locals later discovered that the police visits were caused by Bhanwari Devi’s acts. This resulted in a boycott of Bhanwari Devi and her family, and she lost her job as a result.
>To exact vengeance, five men, including four members of the above-mentioned Gurjar family (Ram Sukh Gujjar, Gyarsa Gujjar, Ram Karan Gujjar, and Badri Gujjar) and one Shravan Sharma, attacked Bhanwari Devi’s husband and violently gang-raped her on September 22, 1992.
>The police tried everything they could to keep her from filing a complaint, causing a delay in the inquiry as well as a medical test that was postponed for 52 hours, only to discover that there was no mention of rape in the report.
>For the entire midnight shift at the police station, she was constantly and obscenely taunted by the women countable.
>She was asked by the policeman to leave her lehnga as evidence of the incident and return to her village after midnight. She was only left with her husband’s bloodstained dhoti to wrap around her body, forcing them to spend the entire night in the police station.
>All of the suspects were acquitted in the Trial Court despite the lack of sufficient evidence and with the support of local MLA Dhanraj Meena. Women activists and organizations did not remain mute in the face of the acquittal, raising powerful protests and voices against it.
>The women’s rights organization “Vishaka” submitted a petition, focusing on the implementation of women’s fundamental rights at work under the provisions of Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution, as well as the necessity to protect them from sexual harassment at work.
ISSUES:
1) What if formal rules were necessary to deal with workplace sexual harassment incidents?
2) Whether sexual harassment at work be a violation of a woman’s fundamental rights?
3) Is there any duty on the part of the employer in cases of sexual harassment at work by one of its workers or by one of its employees?
PETITIONER’S ARGUMENTS: The ‘Vishaka’ group, which included diverse women’s rights activists, NGOs, and other social activists, filed a writ petition seeking a writ of mandamus. They argue that indecent acts of sexual harassment of women at work violate women’s fundamental rights as stated in Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g), and 21 of the Indian Constitution. The petitioners raised the Hon’ble court’s attention to a flaw in the Act that prevents women from working in a safe atmosphere. They asked the Supreme Court to establish norms for combating workplace sexual harassment.
RESPONDENT’S ARGUMENTS: In this instance, the learned Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the respondents (with their assent), did something unusual: he sided with the petitioners. The respondent aided the Hon’ble court in determining an appropriate technique for preventing sexual harassment and formulating rules for doing so. The Hon’ble court’s amicus curiae, Fali S. Nariman, as well as Ms. Naina Kapur and Ms. Meenakshi, assisted the Hon’ble court in dealing with the matter.
JUDGMENT OF THE CASE: Chief Justice J.S Verma delivered the verdict in Vishakha’s case on behalf of Justice Sujata Manihar and Justice B.N Kripal on the basis of a writ petition filed by Vishakha, the case’s victim. The court stated that under Articles 14[2], 19 3 (g), and 21[4] of the Indian Constitution, every profession, trade, or occupation shall provide employees with a safe working environment. It impeded the right to life as well as the right to a decent existence. The most basic criterion was that a safe working environment is available at the workplace.
The Supreme Court ruled that women had a basic right to be free from workplace sexual harassment. It also outlined a number of critical principles for employees to follow in order to avoid workplace sexual harassment of women. The court also recommended that adequate mechanisms for dealing with situations of workplace sexual harassment be developed. The Supreme Court’s principal goal/objective was to guarantee gender equality among people and to ensure that women were not discriminated against in the workplace.
Following this decision, the Supreme Court clarified the word “sexual harassment,” stating that “any physical touch or conduct, an exhibition of pornography, any unpleasant insult or misbehavior, or any sexual desire toward women, or sexual favor” will be considered sexual harassment.
THE VISHAKHA GUIDELINES:
1) Employers should take preventative actions, such as prohibiting harassment outright and providing safe working conditions in terms of hygiene, comfort, and health.
2) If there is a violation of administrative rules in the workplace, appropriate disciplinary action should be taken.
3) If the offenses are covered by the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the employer is required to report them to the authorities.
4) To address harassment, an organization should have a redressal committee. This should be done regardless of whether the demonstration constitutes a crime under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, or under another legislation. Women must make up more than half of the members of such a committee, and the chairperson must also be a woman, as well as a counseling facility. A report on the committee’s progress must be provided to the government every year.
5) The company should take appropriate steps to raise awareness about the problem.
CONCLUSION: Though extensive regulations like The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“Sexual Harassment Act”) have been enacted to protect women in India, the country still ranks as the most unsafe for women. As a result, even if laws do not exist, it is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard women’s safety and dignity.
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