A government sub-committee formed in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement to recommend ways to prevent sexual harassment at workplace is likely to propose waiving the three-month time limit for victims to file complaints as laid down under the law.
The sub-panel headed by a Special Secretary level officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has met thrice so far and is in the process of drafting its recommendations. These will be presented before a four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to a government official in the know of the Committee’s deliberations, relaxing the three-month window provided to victims for filing complaints will require an amendment to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace (PoSH) Act, 2013. Section 9 of the law lays down that a complaint will have to be filed within three months of an incident taking place and incase of a series of incidents it will have to be filed within a period of three months since the last incident.
However, until the law is amended, the sub-panel may recommend that an Internal Committee (IC) can relax the three-month window after a “speaking order” or after noting down proper reasoning for waiving the time limit.
Late last year, many from the Indian media and entertainment industry took to Twitter to share personal accounts of being sexually assaulted and harassed by colleagues and seniors at workplaces. Many of these allegations, such as those against former Union Minister M. J. Akbar, were about incidents that were several years, and sometimes many decades, old.
It is reliably learnt that some members have also proposed having a “limitless time period” or no time restriction for filing of complaints, but others have expressed their reservations regarding this suggestion.
The Committee is also likely to propose that members of ICs be treated on par with “public servants” as defined under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code so that they have immunity from prosecution. Explaining the rationale behind this, the source said, “The move will ensure that the IC members don’t get entangled in court cases if an employer or an accused or a complainant is unhappy with their decision.” The source added that the fear of a lawsuit may deter people from being part of ICs. An aggrieved person will still have the option to challenge the IC’s recommendations before a court.
The official said that this could be important especially after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against top executives at Genpact after an employee was found dead on the day he was suspended, and an inquiry instituted against him following allegations of sexual harassment by two women colleagues.
The officials who are part of the panel are also mulling over granting executive powers to district officers or nodal officers, so that apart from monitoring compliance with the PoSH Act, they can also penalise employers if they fail to constitute an IC, or comply with its recommendations such as by revoking the organisation’s licence.
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