PIL to apply PoSH Act to political parties: Supreme Court asks petitioner to approach ECI first

The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that the petitioner seeking application Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act) to political parties should first approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) before taking recourse to judicial remedies [Yogamaya MG v. Union of India and Others]..The Division Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Manmohan added that the petitioner can move courts if the ECI fails to act. "Why does the petitioner approach not the Election Commission of India.. If nothing happens, you can come here," the Court orally observed when the matter was taken up for hearing today. The petitioner's counsel agreed to the suggestion and the Court then disposed of the plea with liberty to re-approach the court if the ECI fails to resolve the concerns raised. "Writ is disposed off with liberty to approach ECI. If the issue is not resolved, she is at liberty to approach judicial forum," the Court ordered. .The petitioner, Supreme Court advocate Yogamaya MG, moved the Court highlighting non-compliance with the PoSH Act by political parties, particularly when it comes to constitution of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to deal with sexual harassment complaints.The plea, therefore, prayed that the definitions of 'workplace' and 'employer' under the PoSH Act be harmoniously interpreted to make the Act applicable to political parties.The lack of standardized ICCs across political parties may lead to inadequate reporting and addressing of sexual harassment cases, the petitioner argued."The lack of transparency, inadequate structures, and inconsistent implementation of ICCs perpetuate a culture that fails to prioritize women's safety and empowerment," her plea said..During today's hearing, the Court noted that there was some force to the Kerala High Court's view that there is no employer-employee relationship in political parties, thereby making it difficult to apply the PoSH Act to such parties. However, it also observed that the PoSH Act may be applied to other circumstances where there is no strict employer-employee relations, such as in the case of contractual workers. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that local committees constituted under Section 6 of the PoSH Act applies to such contractual workers and small shops. The Court eventually decided not to interfere in the matter for now and gave the petitioner liberty to approach the ECI first. .Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta and advocates Sriram Parakkat and Deepak Prakash represented the petitioner..[Live Coverage]