Review 2012 sexual harassment plaint made by employee, Bombay high court to BARC

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to consider afresh a sexual harassment complaint made by a female employee in 2012

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to consider afresh a sexual harassment complaint made by a female employee in 2012 against her colleagues.

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The division bench of justices Akil Kureshi and SJ Kathawalla was hearing the petition filed by the female employee through advocate Uday Warunjikar in which she informed the court that though she had been sexually harassed, her complaint was rejected by the then women’s cell of the nuclear centre.

The employee then approached the HC after her complaint was rejected in 2012 itself. She had alleged that the women’s cell in the nuclear research centre had not been constituted as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court (SC) in the Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan case, as the cell did not have a non-governmental organisation. The employee had prayed that as her complaint was not addressed, the 2012 decision of the women cell of BARC should be set aside.

However, the counsel for BARC opposed the plea and stated that the cell was correctly constituted and as there was no specific element of sexual harassment in the woman’s complaint, the cell was correct in rejecting the complaint.

In light of the Vishakha guidelines and the new Act by the parliament Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, section 4 of the Act stipulates that an NGO dealing with issues of sexual harassment should be part of the redressal cell. As the BARC cell in 2012 did not have an NGO the complaint should be reconsidered.

The court further directed BARC to also place all pending complaints along with that of the petitioner woman before a new cell that conforms with the Act and take a decision within three months of the order.