Commenting and singing about colleague’s hair not sexual harassment: HC

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court ruled that commenting on a woman's hair and singing about it isn't sexual harassment, overturning previous judgments.

MUMBAI: Commenting on a woman’s hair and singing songs about it cannot be considered sexual harassment, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday has ruled. The single-judge bench made this observation while overturning a judgment by the Industrial Court judgment and an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) report, in connection to a complaint filed by a bank employee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.

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Vinod Narayan Kachave had filed a petition in the Bombay high court challenging the previous judgement and the report, which pertained to a June 2022 incident. Noticing a female employee constantly adjusting her hair during a training session, Kachave had said, “You must be using a JCB to manage your hair”. He followed it up by singing a few lines of the popular Mohammad Rafi song, ‘Yeh Reshmi Zulfein’.

The complainant resigned shortly after the incident and filed a formal sexual harassment complaint with the bank’s Human Resources department.

Following this, Kachave was demoted from his position as associate regional manager to deputy regional manager on October 1, 2022. Three separate complaints were filed, consequent to which, the ICC issued its report on September 30, 2022, alleging that Kachave’s behaviour created a hostile environment at work. A separate complaint was registered against another manager for inappropriate comments on a female employee’s attire in front of male employees. ICC concluded that all the allegations were confirmed by several witnesses. Following this, the Industrial Court upheld the ICC’s findings.

Advocate Sana Raees Khan, representing Kachave, said his intention for singing was to make her comfortable. “If she was feeling uncomfortable with her hair, she should tuck it, as she was distracting him and others in the session”, she added. She contended that the relationship between the female employee and Kachave remained positive after the incident.

Granting relief to Kachave, Justice Sandeep V Marne rejected the contentions presented by the complainant. The court observed that one of his comments mentioned in the complaint was directed at a man, which makes it difficult to determine a case of sexual harassment against her. “Even if the allegations are true, it becomes difficult to hold that the petitioner has committed any act of sexual harassment”, it added.

Commenting on the casual approach of the ICC in examining the evidence in detail, the court stated that it has merely made vague recommendations by recording a general finding that ‘all serious allegations were confirmed by multiple witnesses that were interviewed by the committee’. “The ICC report did not adequately discuss whether the allegations truly amounted to sexual harassment”, it said.