POSH Act | The Supreme Court is contemplating requiring States and Union Territories to establish online dashboards that provide information about Internal Committees.

Legal News by - MAYANK JAIN (This News was written by her during her Internship)

In the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India has directed the Central Government to file an affidavit to be transparent about the specifics that need to be displayed on the dashboard concerning Internal Committees(ICs) established under the POSH Act. The Court highlighted that these details, once finalized by the Center, should be replicated by all States and Union Territories (UTs).

IC (Internal Committee), as the name suggests, is a committee of a workplace to receive and redress complaints of sexual harassment. It is required to have of the following members:

Presiding Officer: who has to be a woman employed at a senior level at the workplace. She has to be from among the employees.

Two Members from amongst employees.

One member from a non-governmental organization committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment also known as the External Member.

The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Sandeep Mehta in the case of Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa and Others. The issue was raised during the hearing where it was noted the Internal Committees in several departments were not constituted according to the POSH Act provision.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati suggested that the dashboard include the following information: the committee's composition, the date it was formed, and the total number of complaints received, resolved, and pending, among other things. appearing for the Union government, said that such a dashboard was a government, said

"As an officer of the court, I can say that it should include - the constitution of the committee members, the date on which it was constituted, the total number of complaints received, and the number of complaints it disposed".

The Amicus has submitted a notice of hearing for today, gathering the information served on affidavits by the Union of India, States/UTs, the Court remarked during the hearing.

The amicus curiae, Advocate Padma Priya, apprised the Bench that the Internal Committees' (ICs') constitutions frequently do not comply with the POSH Act's provisions and that in certain instances, the IC is led by a male member, which is prohibited by the POSH Act and its regulations under sections.

Regarding the online Dashboards that provide information about the Internal Committees Justice Kohli weighed in.

"This is an exercise that would be taken by all the states. This would reduce man-power and human intervention".

The Court's direction comes from the previous ruling where it was found that many stated governments and union territories had not submitted with the POSH Act requirement, keeping in mind that they have been directed to do so many times. The court restated the need for strict adherence to the POSH Act and proactive enforcement by both state and non-state factors to ensure dignity and respect for women in the workplace.

The direction of the court could significantly impact the safety and security of women. However, the question remains: Will the states and union territories put in the necessary effort and assurance? It will require significant effort from both the government and institutions across India to truly make workplaces safer for women".

The matter has been adjourned by four weeks starting from 13 August 2024 to enable ministries and State Governments to file compliance affidavits.

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