NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday termed the plea for job security for members of Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) in private sector companies dealing with workplace sexual harassment as “important” and asked the Solicitor General of India for assistance.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note that despite issuing a notice to the Central government, no one had appeared, nor had a reply been filed.
“This is an important issue that we want to examine,” the bench stated. “Please serve a copy to the Solicitor General. If no one appears at the next hearing, we will appoint an amicus curiae,” the bench told the petitioner’s counsel.
The petitioners in the case are Janaki Chaudhry, a former member of an internal complaints committee, and former journalist Olga Tellis.
The bench has scheduled the next hearing for next week.
The Supreme Court had agreed to look into the plea and issued a notice to the Ministry of Women and Child Development on December 6.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeks job security and protection from retaliation for members of Internal Complaint Committees set up under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 in private companies.
Filed through advocate Munawwar Naseem, the petition argues that women ICC members in the private sector do not enjoy the same job security and tenure protection as those in the public sector.
The petition states that while ICC members are responsible for handling sexual harassment complaints in a company, they can be terminated (with three months’ pay) without a cause, especially if their decision conflicts with the senior management’s interests.
The PIL highlights how this situation creates a conflict of interest and pressures ICC members to make biased decisions. If they rule against senior management, they risk victimisation, including unfair termination or demotion, the petition claims.
“The ‘hire and fire’ rule forms part of the basic tenets of the ‘master-servant’ relationship. In the private sector, if an employee has been terminated from their service, they have no remedy other than the right to claim three months’ salary or severance,” argued the petition.