No Internal Complaints Committee? Pay compensation of ₹ 25 Lakhs – orders MP High Court
The Madhya Pradesh High Court (“MP HC”) in the case of Global Hospital Private Limited v. Local Complaints Committee, District Indore and Others, passed an order imposing a penalty on Global Health Private Limited (“Global Hospital”) for failing to constitute an internal complaints committee (“ICC”) as is required under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”). The MP HC further directed Global Hospital to compensate the victim with a sum of ₹ 25 Lakhs.
The POSH Act stipulates that any establishment with more than 10 employees will need to constitute an ICC consisting of the following members:
(a) A presiding officer who shall be a woman employed at a senior level position;
(b) At least 2 employees of the entity; and
(c) At least 1 external member.
Further, the POSH Act stipulates that at least half of the ICC members should be women.
In the present case, the victim alleged the medical superintendent of sexual harassment by creating a hostile work environment at Global Hospital as he constantly made comments on the victim’s clothing and forced her to sit in his cabin. When the victim brought this to the attention of the senior management, her employment with Global Hospital was terminated.
As Global Hospital did not have an ICC, the victim approached the Local Complaints Committee (“LCC”). The LCC, found that the victim was subjected to sexual harassment and that Global Hospital has violated the provisions of the POSH Act by not constituting an ICC. The LCC further directed Global Hospital to revoke the victim’s termination.
The LCC is a body established by each state government in each district. The main objective of the LCC is to enable women (a) in the unorganized sector, or (b) in smaller establishments to come forward with complaints of sexual harassment. However, as was done in this case, the LCC adjudicates on matters when the establishment has not constituted an ICC.
Global Hospital challenged the order of the LCC before the MP HC and claimed that the LCC had not followed the principles of natural justice during the hearing as Global Hospital was not given an opportunity to present its case. The MP HC, on a review of the facts of the case and the POSH Act, rejected the contentions of Global Hospital and in addition to upholding the order of the LCC, directed Global Hospital to (a) pay a fine of ₹ 50,000 for contravening the provisions of the POSH Act, and (b) compensate the victim to the tune of ₹ 25 Lakhs for failing to address her case of sexual harassment.
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The POSH Act aims to protect women from sexual harassment at the workplace by providing an effective redressal mechanism. The cornerstone of this legislation is for establishments with more than 10 employees, to constitute an ICC so that cases of sexual harassment can be redressed in a fair, transparent and expeditious manner. The MP HC, by requiring Global Hospital to compensate the victim a sum of ₹ 25 Lakhs , has driven home the point that failure to establish an ICC constitutes a serious breach of the POSH Act, inviting severe penal consequences.
One point to note here is that this order will be applicable to all establishments covered by the POSH Act and not only hospitals. Therefore, this order serves as a clarion call for every establishment with more than 10 employees should constitute an ICC at the earliest, if they have not done so till date.
Disclaimer: This post has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information/or observations contained in this post does not constitute legal advice and should not be acted upon in any specific situation without seeking proper legal advice from a practicing attorney.