New Delih (TIP)- The Supreme Court on Thursday , October 19, directed all states and Union Territories to appoint an officer in every district in four weeks to oversee effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, to check sexual harassment faced by women employees.
Ordering the Women and Child Development Ministry of all states and UTs to consider identifying a “nodal person” within the department to oversee and aid in coordination with the Union Government as envisaged under the POSH Act, a Bench led by Justice S Ravindra Bhat asked them to submit a consolidated report on compliance of its directions to the Centre in eight weeks.
The Bench directed the Centre to consolidate various reports, identify any lapses in compliance by states and try to remedy it, before filing a consolidated affidavit of compliance — detailing the states’ compliance, and the Centre’s action taken in regard to the direction — in 12 weeks. It ordered the Centre and states to set aside financial resources to develop educational, communication and training material for spreading awareness about the provisions of the Act.
A circular/bulletin containing the names of all district officers and their contact details along with a district-wise chart of various nodal officers and their contact details must be uploaded on the department’s website in a conspicuous location in six weeks, the top court ordered.
The Bench, which also included Justice Dipankar Gupta, listed the matter for further hearing in the first week of February 2024.
The directions came on a PIL filed by ‘Initiatives for Inclusion Foundation’ and others in 2017 seeking directions to the Centre and states to take measures for proper implementation of provisions of the 2013 Act and the Rules framed under it. The top court asked the Centre to consider amending the Rules, so as to operationalise Section 26 of the Act, by recognising a reporting authority, and/or a fine collecting authority.
It also wanted the Centre to consider amending the Rules so as to identify one department (preferably the Women and Child Department), and creating a “nodal person” post within the department to be responsible for coordination. Source: TNS