Organizations not to Ignore Sexual Harassment Complaint at workplace: Delhi HC
Highlights:
- Ignoring women’s sexual harassment complaints encourage others to shut-up
- Sexual harassment at the workplace need to be addressed and resolved immediately
- The issue of sexual harassment at the workplace is not limited to the office premises only
Ignorance of sexual harassment complaints at the workplace will cost the organization and its victims. Delhi HC
The Bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh of the Delhi High Court, on hearing a petition on the illegal dismissal of the petitioner by the Bank of Maharashtra on false grounds and ignoring the sexual harassment complaint 10 years ago
The petitioner is a regional office employee of the Bank of Maharashtra . She writes in her petition that her senior manager made a complaint against her, accusing her of using his credit card without his knowledge to buy some gold jewellery.She then allegedly returned the amount in cash with an anonymous note and left it on the table of the senior manager.
Meanwhile, the petitioner claimed that the senior manager had himself offered the credit card to her to purchase the jewellery as a favor. After purchasing the same, she immediately returned the amount in cash to his manager.
Following this, the organization initiated disciplinary action and dismissed the petitioner from the service.
While hearing the petition, the bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh of the Delhi High Court observed that the petitioner was not even officially informed of her dismissal until she received the suspension order.
During the hearing, the Court noted that this was a sexual harassment case, and that the petitioner had previously filed a sexual harassment complaint against the senior manager, which was ignored by the relevant authority or official.
Even the court additionally observed that there was insufficient information or evidence to prove that the allegations leveled by the senior manager against the petitioner were true.
In this whole matter, the respected Delhi High Court stated its verdict that if the complaints of sexual harassment by a woman are ignored at the workplace or not heeded, other victims may be encouraged to remain silent in the future or avoid speaking up about sexual harassment at the workplace.
Further, the bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh stated that the issues of sexual harassment at the workplace need to be addressed and resolved by the concerned officials on a priority basis and promptly. “Because the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace is not limited to the office premises but also extends to the officials outside the premises who are abusing their power and capacity as a superior to influence a junior and a newcomer by making unwelcoming advances, requesting sexual favors, making physical contact, or other sexually determined behavior.” determined as misconduct.
The court also overturned the disciplinary authority’s failure to investigate the reasons for dismissing the petitioner. Also, the senior manager ignored and left unaddressed the petitioner’s earlier complaints regarding sexual harassment by the senior manager. The organization neither conducted a serious inquiry nor took any action against the accused, who merely denied the allegations and called them false and baseless.
The court has ordered the bank to take all necessary steps to reinstate the petitioner and provide all necessary benefits. The court also ordered the payment of Rs 1 lakh in compensation for her grievances, which have been redressed after over 10 years of the pending case.
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