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| Fails to constitute ICC against sexual harassment of women | | DSE violates Supreme Court direction | | Sumit Sharma
Jammu, Dec 22: Inviting penalty with provisions of Act -1 of section 26 with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, the Director School Education, Jammu violated Supreme Court's direction for failure to constitute 'Internal Complaint Committee' (ICC) against sexual harassment of women employees/students. In a RTI reply having No DSEJ/RTI/2013/7751-55, the office of the Directorate of School Education, Jammu admitted that the department has not constituted any committee as yet to enquire the sexual harassment of women employee/students as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court of India.
As per Supreme Court's guidelines contained in Chapter III, "Every employer of the workplace shall, by an order in writing constitute a Committee to be known as the 'Internal Complaints Committee'. Provided that where the offices or administrative units of the workplace are located at different places or divisional or sub divisional levels the ICC shall be constituted at all administrative units or offices. The Committee shall consist of members to be nominated by the employer and the Presiding Officer shall be a woman".
The RTI in this connection was filed by advocate Kovid Khosla in which he sought details of steps taken by office of DSE to address the issue of the sexual harassment of women employees/students posted in different schools in Jammu province as directed by the Supreme Court of India, number of complaints of sexual harassment received by office of DSE since 2005 and whether at present any Internal Complaints Committee has been constituted.
In reply, the Public Information Officer, PIO, of the Office of Director School Education, Jammu said, "This Directorate has not constituted any committee to enquire the sexual harassment of any woman but his committee is going to be constituted. Not a single complaint has been received by this Directorate related to the sexual harassment to any woman and without complaint no enquiry was initiated. For constitution of the committee on the guidelines of the Supreme Court of India is going to be constituted".
Pertinently, the Supreme Court of India in the case of Vishaka v/s State of Rajasthan, reaffirmed that sexual harassment at workplace is a form of discrimination against women and recognized that it violates the constitutional Right to Equality and provided guidelines to address this issue pending the enactment of a suitable legislation. The bill later having been passed by both the Houses of Parliament received the assent of the President of India on April 22, 2013. It came on the Statute Book as The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace( Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (14 of 2013). |
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