Declare private sector ICC members under PoSH Act as public servants: PIL in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response to a plea to secure the service conditions of those who are part of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) set up under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act) [Janaki Chaudhari and Anr v. Ministry of WCD and Ors]..The petition highlights that members of ICCs under the PoSH Act are not sufficiently protected, particularly in private sectors, making it difficult for such committees to deal with sexual harassment complaints independently and without fear. ICC members dealing with sexual harassment complaints in private workplaces often risk having their services arbitrarily terminated if they do not give rulings that are favourable to the company, the plea says. Among other prayers, the petitioners have urged the Court to order the Centre to declare ICC members in the private sector as 'public servants', so that their service conditions are secured at par with the protection enjoyed by public-sector ICC members. After noting that the issues raised in the plea were sensitive, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday asked the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to file their responses..The plea has been filed by a former corporate executive and former ICC member, Janaki Chaudhari, along with Olga Tellis, a journalist whose petition on the plight of pavement dwellers had led to the Supreme Court's 1985 landmark verdict on the fundamental right to shelter. ICCs set up under the PoSH Act are committees endowed with quasi-judicial powers similar to civil courts, which are required to conduct impartial inquiries into sexual harassment cases and provide unbiased recommendations to employers. However, the petitioners argue that ICC members in the private sector have not been provided with sufficient safeguards to enable them to act without fear and favour while conducting inquiries into allegations of sexual harassment. The plea explains that while dealing with sexual harassment complaints, ICCs may sometimes have to make decisions that may run counter to the commercial interests of the company to which the parties belong. On account of this, undue pressure may be exerted on ICC members by the company, thereby making their work environment unsafe. "The right to a safe environment extends not only to victims of sexual harassment but also officers of the Internal Complaints Committees who are tasked with the statutory duty to pass orders against sexual harassment at the workplace. To discharge such duties, ICC Members must be able to act without fear or favour," the plea states. .The plea further argues that the ICC members in the government sector have a greater degree of job security when compared to ICC members in the private sector. This is a discriminatory approach, the petitioners argue.The PIL also flags concern over the lack of any grievance redressal mechanism for ICC members, and seeks remedial measures.Moreover, it seeks the establishment of a commission to review the current deficiencies in the PoSH Act with regard to the protection of ICC members.The petition was filed through Advocate Munawwar Naseem and drawn by Advocate Abha Singh..[Read Order]