The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking to bring registered political parties under the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Refusing to extend the law to political parties, the top court held that they cannot be seen as “workplaces”, adding that the members usually join voluntarily without remuneration and are not “employees”.
The SC was hearing a special leave petition, filed by a lawyer, which challenged a 2022 Kerala high court judgement that said political parties were not obligated to constitute Internal Complaints Committees under the POSH Act.
Lawyers' arguments and SC verdict
• Senior advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for petitioner Yogamaya MG, argued that the POSH Act deliberately included broad definitions for “workplace”, “employer” and “employee”.
• Gupta said that the Act had provided no exceptions for any entity, whether public or private, adding that exclusion of political parties from POSH would leave women workers in politics unsupported.
• However, the SC bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai, and also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, said that political parties cannot be equated to workplaces.
{{/usCountry}}• However, the SC bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai, and also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, said that political parties cannot be equated to workplaces.
{{/usCountry}}•"How do you declare a political party a workplace? Is there any employment there?" the bench questioned the petitioners. It added that when people join political parties, it is not the same as getting a job. “When you join a political party, you do not get a job. There is no payment for your work,” the court said.
• The SC concluded that extending the Act to include political parties would “open the Pandora's box to blackmail the members.” The court established that a membership in a political party does not create an employer-employee relationship.