Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan This case involved a public interest petition filed by a group of NGOs for enforcement of the Constitution's protection of women's rights and international women's rights norms. [1][2][3][4], In India, before 1997, there were no formal guidelines for how an incident involving sexual harassment at workplace should be dealt by an employer. Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan , AIR 1997 SC 3011. Environment Moot Memorial - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. For this act, she gained full support from the members of her village. You can click on this link and join: You have entered an incorrect email address! For collaborations contact mail.lawlex@gmail.com. Therefore, in a class action, brought by various NGOs and social workers, finally the apex court brought this silence to an end. , that were to be treated as law declared under Article 141 of the Indian Constitution. In 1992, to seek vengeance upon her, Ramakant Gujjar along with his 5 men gang raped her in front of her husband. The learned Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the respondents (with their consent) in this case did something unusual i.e, supported the petitioners. v State of Rajasthan, which deals with aspects of sexual harassment of women in the workplace. There is a need for various Guidelines and an Act just to safeguard women on the working front. This case has brought a lot of reasonable changes in the field of employment of a woman. Case Summary - Vishakha v State of Rajasthan The growth of a society is often determined by the way it treats its most vulnerable sections; women and children are among the most vulnerable in a society like ours and to safeguard their rights is of paramount importance. Amidst, the protest to stop a child marriage in one Ramakant Gujjars family Bhanwari Devi tried her best to stop that marriage. 2. It was been heard by a bench of chief justice J.S. The respondent assisted the Honble court in figuring out an effective method to curb sexual harassment and in structuring the guidelines for the prevention of the same. Judicial Overreach instead it is the best example of judicial activism. [2] Lets dig into the details of the case to know more about how the law regarding the safety of women against sexual harassment evolved in India in the past two decades. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, "Vishaka & Others Vs. State of Rajasthan & Others", http://www.iiap.res.in/files/VisakaVsRajasthan_1997.pdf, "Explained: Vishakha judgment on sexual harassment at workplace", "A brief history of the battle against sexual harassment at the workplace", "Sexual harassment and Vishaka guidelines: All you need to know", "India's New Labour Law - Prevention Of Sexual Harassment At The Workplace - Employment and HR - India", "Vishaka Guidelines against Sexual Harassment at Workplace (text)", "Vishaka and others V. State of Rajasthan and others. It laid its focus on the enforcement of the fundamental rights of women at the Workplace under the provisions of Article 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India, it also raised the issue of the need for protection of women from sexual harassment at Workplace. https://poll2018.trust.org/country/?id=india, https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Beijing-Statement.pdf, https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx#:~:text=Introduction,twentieth%20country%20had%20ratified%20it, http://www.nitc.ac.in/app/webroot/img/upload/546896605.pdf, Free Online (Live only) 3-Day Bootcamp On, Weekly Competition Week 1 December 2019, Weekly Competition Week 2 December 2019, Weekly Competition Week 3 December 2019, Weekly Competition Week 4 December 2019, Weekly Competition Week 1 November 2019, Weekly Competition Week 2 November 2019, Weekly Competition Week 3 November 2019, Weekly Competition Week 4 November 2019, Weekly Competition Week 2 October 2019, Weekly Competition Week 3 October 2019, Weekly Competition Week 4 October 2019, Weekly Competition Week 3 September 2019, Weekly Competition Week 4 September 2019, Introductory Course: Legal Writing For Blogging, Paid Internships, Knowledge Management, Research And Editing Jobs, Impact of nullification of Section 87 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by the Supreme Court, Inner line permit and Citizenship Amendment Act. But this acquittal resulted in a huge backlash from many women activists and organizations which supported Bhanwari. BENCH: CJI Sujata V. Manohar, Justice B.N Kirpal Further, the employee must provide the victim all sort of protection while dealing with the complaints. Students ofLawsikho coursesregularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skill. This campaign was subjected to disapproval and ignorance by all the members of the village, even though they were aware of the fact that child marriage is illegal. However, Bhanwari Devi, the spark that ignited the need for appropriate legislation to safeguard women against sexual harassment, even after two decades, is still awaiting justice to be served. The Honble Court took reference from the international conventions to proceed with the case. It is seen as a significant legal victory for women's groups in India. Justice Sujata V. Manohar and Thus, the power of this Court under Article 32 for enforcement of the fundamental rights and the executive power of the Union have to meet the challenge to protect the working women from sexual harassment and to make their fundamental rights meaningful. [1], The court decided that the consideration of "International Conventions and norms are significant for the purpose of interpretation of the guarantee of gender equality, right to work with human dignity in Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution and the safeguards against sexual harassment implicit therein." The present case involves a PIL filed before the court for the sexual harassment of women at workplace. Criminal Appeal Nos. They put forward their argument that the indecent acts of sexual harassment of women at Workplace violate the fundamental rights enshrined under Article14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. This led to boycotting Bhanwari Devi and her family. It is also known to be the last case to be heard as a jury trial in India since the Government abolished the jury system as a result of this case. https://t.me/joinchat/J_0YrBa4IBSHdpuTfQO_sA. accord and sought the provocation by also first calling a filthy swine 6 and hence will be murder as held in Bhura Ram v state of Rajasthan where it was stated that the defense of grave and sudden provocation can't be . The Honble Supreme Court has laid down the following guidelines which are also known as Vishakha case; Sexual harassment means disagreeable sexually determined behavior direct or indirect as: This landmark case has marked itself a very important incident in the field of sexual harassment. It is a fact that India has been ranked first[1] among the worlds most dangerous countries for women in the year 2018. Where such conduct amounts to a specific offense under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law the employer shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law by making a complaint with the appropriate authority. The Honble court took reference from various international conventions and laws in the absence of domestic law, then connected it to the law of the land and gave birth to a new law altogether. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stories handpicked for you. DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 13 th August 1997. The Complaints Committee must make an annual report to the government department concerned of the complaints and action taken by them. Fact of the Case: The immediate cause for the filing of this writ petition was an incident of alleged brutal gang rape of a social worker in a village of Rajasthan. Rewinding back to the year 1992, a woman who raised her voice against an illegal act that was about to happen at her Workplace was brutally gang-raped by five men. This case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan showcases the picture of one such instance of discrimination against women. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The country had after 1991 seen rise in gender equality in terms of employment. The Judiciary derived this authority from Article 51(c) and 253 r/w Entry 14 of the Union List of Seventh schedule of the Constitution. The efforts put in by the Indian judiciary, in this particular case to safeguard women is commendable. Respondent: State of Rajasthan & Ors Date of judgment: 13 August 1997 Bench: J.S. I guess not. Drafted the petition for the quashing of the FIR 3. In particular, it should ensure that victims, or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment. The Complaint Committee must be headed by a woman and not less than half of the members must be woman. J.S. They requested the Honble Court to frame guidelines for preventing sexual harassment at Workplace. These sections left the interpretation of 'outraging women's modesty' to the discretion of the police officer. The committee must comprise of a counseling facility. [9], The Supreme Court of India's judgement only proposed guidelines to alleviate the problem of sexual harassment in 1997. Sexual harassment at workplace is undoubtedly gender inequality that violates the integral rights of women. However, apart from Constitutional Law I am also interested in Criminal laws, Human Rights Law and Arbitration laws. The petition was filed after Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan, was brutally gang raped for stopping a child marriage. Nanavati was initially declared not guilty by a jury, but the verdict was . State of Rajasthan. The. The court stated that these guidelines were to be implemented until legislation is passed to deal with the issue. EMPLOYERS OR OTHER EQUIVALENT AUTHORITYS DUTY Employer or other responsible persons are bound to preclude such indecent incidents of sexual harassment from happening. Required fields are marked *. In the context of sexual harassment of women at workplace, judicial activism reached its pinnacle in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (Vishaka). Women experiencing sexual harassment at workplace had to lodge a complaint under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with the 'criminal assault of women to outrage women's modesty' and Section 509 that punishes an individual or individuals for using a 'word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman'. [8] The creation of a hostile work environment through unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature may consist not of a single act but of pattern of behaviour comprising many such acts. Like how they referred various international laws to give birth to a new law as highlighted in this article, they should take similar cue from the middle east for stringent punishments to rape or sexual harassment complaints to bring more fear and responsibility among people thinking to involve in such acts.. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Case Summary: Vishaka & Others vs. State of Rajasthan, It is clear violation of the rights under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of Constitution. Date of Judgement: 13/08/1997 Bench: J.S. The guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in order to enforcement of the fundamental rights of women is now became a law in India as Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Through the Vishaka Case, the Honble Supreme Court of India took a great step towards the empowerment of women by issuing guidelines to curb sexual harassment at Workplace. Share this link with a friend: Copied! V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. The working conditions must be appropriate and not hostile to the woman employees of the organization. However, Bhanwari Devi, the spark that ignited the need for appropriate legislation to safeguard women against sexual harassment, even after two decades, is still awaiting justice to be served. A report must be sent to the government annually on the development of the issues being dealt by the committee. . [(2009) 40 PTC 125 (Del)], Union of India vs KA Najeeb [(2021) 3 SCC 713]. violence against women. Whether the employer has any responsibility when sexual harassment is done to/by its employees? v State of Rajasthan was a 1997 Indian Supreme Court case where various women's groups led by Naina Kapur and her organisation, Sakshi filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the state of Rajasthan and the central Government of India to enforce the fundamental rights of working women under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The guidelines suggest that the compliance mechanism should ensure time-bound treatment of complaints, but they do not suggest that a report can only be made within a short period of time since the incident occurred. For further assistance the committee shall also include NGOs or someone aware with such issues. MOOT MEMORIAL 1. All employers or persons in charge of work place whether in the public or private sector should take appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment. 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