In Cases of Retaliation, Can IC Take Action?

Retaliation is a primary concern of several women that come forward with claims of sexual harassment. This is due to the fact that while the proceedings take months to take fruit in reality, the petitioner will be expected to work at the same place for a continued period of time. This exposes her to several potential dangers on a professional and personal front. While it has not been explicitly stated as so in the Legislation, there are interim measures that may be that have been formulated in order to protect the woman from such dangers. Other than interim measures, there are also safety guidelines that are drafted specifically by the company in order to take care of it’s specific needs.The general safety measures provided  include:

1.  Transfer the complainant or respondent to any other workplace; 
2.  Grant leave to the aggrieved woman for up to three months in addition to her entitled leave;
3. Restrain the respondent from reporting on the work performance or writing any confidential report in relation to the aggrieved woman; 
4. Restrain the respondent from supervising academic activities of the aggrieved woman, should the aggrieved woman be a part of an educational institution.

Furthermore, Section 7 and 8 of the PoSH Rules, 2013 describes the procedure in which the complaints are to be addressed by the complaints committee. Here, in S. 7(4) it states that the adjudication of these cases must be done in accordance with Natural Justice. It also states in Section 8 that on the request of the aggrieved woman, the Complaints Committee may restrict the respondent from being involved in neither confidential reports regarding the professional work of the aggrieved party, nor be involved in any educational activities the aggrieved party is. As seen in the case Weather Reporters of Local Papers…v Ranjith Roy, Natural justice can never be alienated from the process of adjudication, even if all other principles and provisions have been ignored or disregarded. 

It is important for the Victim of retaliation to come forward with the complaint or a third party that has been given explicit permission by the complainant to do so. Due to the civil nature of the proceedings and remedies given, it is a matter of right in personam. That is, only the person whose rights have been violated has the right to approach the IC. However, An argument may be made in the interest of the aforementioned S.7(4) since retaliation typically takes place during the period of adjudication and hence within the purview of the same. It will depend purely on the facts and circumstances of the case; along with the state of mind of the adjudicators. In the event that the retaliation takes place after the proceedings have ended, the latter mentioned Section will no longer apply. It is in this gap that the companies themselves must create guidelines within their framework. For example, LTI’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment lays down strict rules that prohibit retaliation against the parties involved and the violation of the same incurs punishments that have been prescribed by the company themselves.