The term respondent has been defined under Section 2(m) of the Sexual Harassment of Women (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 as a person against whom the aggrieved woman has made a complaint.
Under the PoSH Act a respondent has the following rights:
Procedural rights in an Inquiry
According to Rule 3 of the act, the Respondent has a right to know about the complaint against them. They must be given a copy of the written complaint while being called in for a hearing.
The respondent has 10 days to furnish a response to the complaint along with the set of supporting documents/evidence and a list of witnesses he/she would like to provide to the Internal Committee.
The right to be heard
Sections 11 and 13 of the POSH Act provide for an opportunity of being heard along with the availability of the findings and the inquiry report to both parties.
Principles of natural justice are fundamental rules of procedure. They are important concepts that are grounded in Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 21 (right to life and liberty) of the constitution of India. Under the PoSH law, the inquiry that the Internal committee conducts follows this principle. One of the core concepts under the principle of natural justice is:
“No one can be condemned unheard” – Audi alteram partem (Hear the other side)
This means that the respondent will be given all fair chances to substantiate his/her side of arguments with witnesses along with the right to cross-examination.
“Nemo judex in causa sua” – This Latin maxim states that no one should be made the judge of their cause. This means that the PoSH inquiry should be conducted in an unbiased manner. The IC committee shouldn’t be biased and shall have a neutral approach to harassment complaints of women.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, Rule 7(4) categorically states that “the complaints committee shall abide by the principles of natural justice in the procedure of inquiry of PoSH complaints, rendering an unbiased examination and enquiry of complaints and similarly in the process of attaining justice.”
Right to confidentiality
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 states that the following details must not be known to the public, press or media in any manner:
- Identity, name and address of the aggrieved woman, respondent and witnesses
- Information about conciliation and inquiry proceedings
- Recommendations of IC (or LC)
- The action was taken by the employer (or the district officer)
In the case P v. A & Ors. the Court was of the view that “It is imperative, therefore, to protect the identities of the parties from disclosure, even accidental disclosure, in these proceedings. This is in the interest of both sides. There appear to be no established guidelines so far in such matters. This order, setting out a working protocol for future orders, hearings and case file management, is the first endeavour in that direction. These are only initial guidelines, and will necessarily be subject to revision or modification as needed. I would suggest that these guidelines are the minimum required.”
Note that it is not just the complainant’s identity, but also that of the accused which is protected.
It is imperative that while the inquiry is conducted, all principles of fairness are upheld in the quest to deliver justice.