a company to pay compensation of Rs. 1.68 crores for not constituting the Committee to deal with sexual harassment issue

One of the interesting judgment of Madras High Court wherein the company paid nearly Rs. 1.68 crores for non-constitution of the sexual harassment committee.

 

In this case, the HC held that it is the duty of the employer to provide safe environment and the court rejected the argument that the vicarious liability of the employer is not applicable as the grievance is between co-worker and worker.

 

This case law reminds that even a company could be liable for huge damages if it fails to takes appropriate action.

 

I am sure this is just a beginning and will open doors for aggrieved person to seek damages from the company apart from the perpetrator for any wrong doing.

In the recent case of ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd. Vs. Mr. Justice T.N.C. Rangarajan, the High Court of Madras (“HC”) has directed a company to pay compensation of Rs. 1.68 crores for not constituting the Committee to deal with sexual harassment issues (“Vishakha Committee”) as mandated by the Supreme Court’s Vishakha Guidelines. The HC observed that the existence of a grievance redressal committee and an ombudsperson in the organisation was no substitute for a Vishakha committee.

 

While passing the above Order, the HC has stated that not constituting the Vishakha Committee resulted in the petitioner suffering unquantifiable damages. If the company had constituted a Vishakha committee, the HC observed, the parties could have perhaps avoided a series of litigations and the consequent legal harassment. Two things could have happened had a committee been put in place. The petitioner could have complained to the committee and got her grievance vindicated. If the committee had found her allegations to be untrue, the matter would have ended there. In the first alternative, the petitioner would have continued in employment and the offender thrown out of employment. In the second alternative, the petitioner would have been legally compelled to go out without any legitimate claim against the company.

 

It may be noted that the Supreme Court, in its decision in Vishakha case, made it clear that the directions issued therein would be binding and enforceable in law, until a suitable legislation is enacted. The Vishakha Guidelines have since been replaced by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

reference: update article from Lexplosion Solutions Pvt Ltd