• Sexual harassment of women in general and such harassment at workplaces is a phenomenon

that puts women at higher levels of risk. A robust mechanism against the same goes a long way

in safeguarding their interests. The decision of the Supreme Court in Vishakha v State of

Rajasthan was a landmark one as it laid down elaborate guidelines to deal with the menace of

sexual harassment against women at workplaces. The ruling was delivered by a three-judge

bench comprising of Chief Justice Verma, Justice Sujata V. Manohar and Justice B.N. Kripal.

• The most important feature of the Act is the establishment of the Internal Complaints

Committee (ICC) in establishments with 10 or more employees by an order given in writing by

the employer.

• This Committee shall constitute of a presiding officer who should be a senior female employee,

an external member to guard against undue influence from the employer or any other higher-

ups, and two other members.

• Vishakha Case Background

• It all started when Banwari Devi, a social worker in a programme to stop child marriages,

stopped a chid marriage that was taking place in an influential Gujjar family. While Banwari Devi

did a commendable job despite protests against her, the Gujjars were hell-bent on taking

revenge.

• One Ramakant Gujjar along with five of his men gang-raped her in a brutal manner in front of

her husband. Her subsequent attempt to file a police case was met with apathy for a long time

and once she succeeded in doing so, she faced further stigma and cruelty.
• The trial court acquitted the accused citing lack of evidence but Banwari Devi, along with a

sympathizer, approached the Supreme Court by way of a writ petition which eventually led to an

immensely important judgement.

• It was this case that resulted in the Indian Supreme Court formulating guidelines to deal with

sexual harassment in the workplace, but her attackers remain free, cleared of rape charges by

the trial court while her appeal has been heard just once in the high court over the past 22

years. In the interim, two of the accused have died.

• The attack took place on 22 September 1992

• The attackers were Gujjars, the affluent and dominant caste group in the village. Bhanwari Devi

and her husband, Mohan Lal Prajapat, are from the low-caste potter community, Kumhar.

• The men were angry with her for trying to prevent a nine-month-old Gujjar girl's wedding a few

months earlier.

• Bhanwari Devi had worked as a saathin (friend) for the state government's Women's

Development Programme (WDP) since 1985, says Jaipur-based women's rights activist Prof

Renuka Pamecha

• Her job involved going door-to-door in the village, campaigning against social ills - she would tell

women about hygiene, family planning, the benefits of sending their daughters to school, and

she would discourage female foeticide, infanticide, dowry and child marriages.

• Rajasthan has a huge tradition of child marriages and thousands of children, many just months

old, are married off every year.

• Bhanwari Devi herself was a child bride - she told me she had been married when she was five

or six and her husband was eight or nine.

• Her campaign against child marriage was not an attempt to challenge patriarchy or fight the

feudal mindset, but she was just doing her job.

• And she knew that meddling in the affairs of the Gujjars could invite a backlash, says Dr Pritam

Pal, who headed the WDP's training programme and worked very closely with Bhanwari Devi.

• But, Bhanwari Devi says, she had no choice in the matter.

• Dr Pal says the police treated her with derision, didn't take her complaint seriously and botched

up the investigation. Her medical test was conducted 52 hours later when it should have been

done within 24 hours, her scratches and bruises were not recorded, her complaints of physical

discomfort were ignored.

• After local newspapers reported Bhanwari Devi's plight and protests by women's activists, the

case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's federal police.

• The five accused were finally arrested more than a year after the crime, and were charged with

harassment, assault, conspiracy and gang rape.

• While denying them bail in December 1993, Rajasthan high court Judge NM Tibrewal wrote in

his order: "I am convinced that Bhanwari Devi was gang-raped in revenge for attempting to stop

the marriage of [one of the accused] Ramkaran's daughter, a minor."

• Things, however, went downhill for Bhanwari Devi from there. Over the course of the trial,

judges were inexplicably changed five times and, in November 1995, the accused were acquitted
 of rape - instead, they were found guilty of lesser offences like assault and conspiracy and were

all given just nine months in jail.

• "It was a dubious judgement," says Bharat of the Jaipur-based NGO Vishakha, one of the groups

fighting to get justice for her. He cites some of the "bizarre reasons" the judge gave while

clearing the accused of rape:

• The village head cannot rape

• Men of different castes cannot participate in gang rape

• Elder men of 60-70 years cannot rape

• A man cannot rape in front of a relative - this was with reference to two of the men, an uncle

and nephew

• A member of the higher caste cannot rape a lower caste women because of reasons of purity

• Bhanwari Devi's husband couldn't have quietly watched his wife being gang-raped

• The judgement caused immense outrage in India and globally. Massive protests were held in

Jaipur with thousands marching through the city streets, demanding justice.

• Congress party MP from Rajasthan Girija Vyas called the decision "politically motivated". Mohini

Giri, who was then head of the Indian government's National Commission for Women, said the

court order "ignored principles of justice" and wrote a letter to the chief justice appealing to him

to "intervene".

• The state government, which seemed reluctant to appeal against the order, finally challenged it

in the Rajasthan high court, but only one hearing has been held in 22 years.
• Prof Pamecha says justice has remained elusive for Bhanwari Devi, but she is the reason why

millions of Indian women are now legally protected against sexual harassment in the workplace.

• "The state authorities had refused to help her, saying as her employer, they were not

responsible since she was assaulted in her fields. We said the government must take

responsibility since the attack on her was because of her work."

• So a group of activists from Jaipur and Delhi-based organisations filed a public interest petition

in the Supreme Court, demanding that "workplaces must be made safe for women and that it

should be the responsibility of the employer to protect women employee at every step".

• Vishakha Case Details

• The Supreme Court was to delve upon the deep-rooted gender inequality in Indian society

which manifests itself in the form of violence against women (in the form of sexual harassment

at workplaces and rape). The Supreme Court while looking into the issue also had to decide

whether it was willing to lay down elaborate guidelines to deal with the same. The Court rose to

the occasion and did come up with several guidelines to stop sexual harassment at workplaces

and these guidelines are popularly known as Vishakha Guidelines.

• The Court ruled that sexual harassment leads to depravity among the victims and was a gross

violation of their fundamental rights as provided under Articles 14, 19 and 21.

• The Court declared that in order to meaningfully dispose of the case, a set of guidelines are

necessary. The Union of India also gave its consent for the guidelines through the Solicitor

General, in addition to making a commitment to devise a women’s policy that would make sure

that women’s rights are protected to provide them with a safe atmosphere to flourish in various

fields of life.
• The Court defined sexual harassment as any physical touch or conduct, any unpleasant taunt or

misbehaviour, showing of pornography and asking for any kind of sexual favours.

• It was held that sexual harassment at the workplace should be informed, produced and

circulated. Every act of harassment shall be dealt with in an appropriate manner which shall

include criminal proceedings and disciplinary action.

• For the time-bound and effective redressal of complaints, a robust mechanism should be in

place at workplaces.

• A complaints committee should be put in place which should be headed by a woman and more

than half of its members should also be women.

• In order to prevent any pressure by the higher-ups at the workplace, a third party like an NGO

should be involved.

• Moreover, concrete steps must be taken to create awareness at the workplace as to what sexual

harassment is and how to approach appropriate people if someone is harassed at the

Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

• Seventeen years after the Vishakha Guidelines were pronounced, the Parliament woke up from

its deep slumber and passed the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013.

• The Act is much wider in application than the guidelines but a cursory look tells us that the basic

framework has been borrowed from the Vishakha Guidelines.

• The “aggrieved women” covers a wide range of women irrespective of age and employment

status while “workplace” includes corporate and private places as well as both the organised

and unorganised sector.

• Specific time limits have been provided for inquiry and redressal of complaints. Penalties

including fines up to Rs 50,000 have been prescribed for non-compliance with the provisions of

the Act.

• A Local Complaints Committee (LCC) is a committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment

at the workplace from establishments that do not have an Internal Complaints Committee

because they have less than 10 workers, or when the complaint is against the employer himself.

• This Committee is important for women who work in the unorganised sector or for domestic

workers.

• The LCC is mandated under Section 6 of Act.

• The committees have the same powers as that of a civil court under the Civil Procedure Code.

However, strict procedural laws shall not be followed during the complaint redressal.

• The Committees may take steps towards conciliation (informal settlement between parties) at

the request of the woman.

• Otherwise, it shall initiate an enquiry into such allegations. If a prima facie case of sexual

harassment exists, the Committee shall submit its finding to the police station.

• On the completion of the report, it shall be submitted to the employer or the district officer.

• The merits and demerits of judicial activism are always debated in legal circles; there are pros

and cons to it but the Vishakha judgment enforces the good side of the activism of judges.
 Before the pronouncement of Vishakha, India was lacking a law on sexual harassment even after

five decades of independence and numerous instances of gender discrimination and sexual

violence against women. 

• The judgement brought to fore the evil of sexual harassment even though it was brushed under

the carpet for a very long time till then.

• The act of sexual harassment against women takes away from them the dignity, that is an

inherent right of every human being and a single act of harassment creates a lifetime of sorrow.