Vishakha Case – Supreme Court Judgement

Vishakha Case: In several cases, the Supreme Court judgements have greatly impacted our Indian society and polity. These historical jurisdictions are very crucial to understand the problems that exist in the society. In this article, we will learn about the SC verdicts and the laws which were implemented after the Vishakha case. Details of the Vishakha case which happened in 1997, led to guidelines being set for working women and children at the workplace.

Vishakha Case – Supreme Court Judgement

Vishakha Case Background

A social activist, named Banwari Devi tried to stop child marriage in an influential Gujjar family of a village. She had been doing remarkable work to stop child marriages. On the other hand, the Gujjar family exuberantly wanted to take revenge on this brave woman.

Eventually, doomsday came and a person named, Ramakant Gujjar along with five others gang-raped Banwari Devi. Unfortunately, her husband had to see all this but he was helpless.

However, after this mortifying incident, the couple went to lodge a FIR. This didn’t help them in any way & only further, obstacles came up. In the course of the trial in the court, the accused were acquitted because of the lack of evidence.

Nevertheless, she along with her co-worker bestowed a writ petition and approached the door of the Supreme Court which provided a crucial decision to prohibit such an unlawful act.

Vishakha Case vs State of Rajasthan

The growth of a society is determined by its approach to the weakest section. In addition, women and children are unsafe in some scenarios, so protecting their rights is what is utmost important. In general, harassment of women in their workplaces is a major concern that puts them in danger. That is why a powerfully built system of laws is necessitated.

The Supreme Court’s verdict on the infamous Vishakha case that took place in the state of Rajasthan proved to be a historical decision because it set certain regulations to prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace. The landmark decision was given by three- judges bench which are Chief Justice Verma, Justice Sujata V. Manohar and Justice B.N. Kripal.

Vishakha Case Details

• The Supreme Court had to dive into the deep-seated gender inequality to configure the convictions that open to women suppression by sexually harassing them in the workplace. Also, the SC was about to substantiate the comprehensive regulations to handle these felonious acts. In the aftermath of the whole battle, the judiciary concluded by implementing strong guidelines for the termination of offensive sexual advances in any organisation or workplace which is known as the Vishakha guidelines.

• The Supreme Court of India pronouncement stated that sexual harassment led to immorality among the victims which violates their rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21.

• The court ruled that the closure of this case requires a set of regulations. Apart from formulating the women’s policy by the Union of India, the guidelines through the Solicitor General also gave consent which will ensure the protection of women’s rights in all the fields to provide a safe environment for the growth and prosperity of the women.

• The court stated the sexual harassment as a form of physical touch, uncomfortable taunts, misbehaviour, showing pornography and asking for sexual advances.

• It is believed that sexual harassment in the workplace should be informed, brought about and disseminated. Every aspect of offensive sexual advances will be tackled by taking legal and disciplinary actions.

• The workplaces must have a powerfully built mechanism to fight back these mishappenings in an effective way.

• The formation of a complaint committee is supervised by women as well and more than half of the members should be women too.

• To avoid the influence of power of highly positioned people in the workplace, the involvement of third parties such as NGOs should be taken place.

• Besides this, they are educating the employees at the workplace regarding sexual harassment and what steps can be taken to rid of this as well as whom to contact if they find themselves against their consent.

Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

After a long battle of 17 years, the court declared the Vishakha guidelines and passed a law which is called the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013. It is commonly known by POSH which stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act.

The sole purpose of this Act is to promote gender equality along with providing a safe and respected atmosphere for all employees.

• This act rules the company or the organisation which have more than 10 employees a committee will be formed as an Internal complaint committee.

• ICC has the powers of the trial court which allows them to examine the case as well as deep-rooted enquiry of the alleged. A company of less than 10 members would come under the Local Complaints Committee (LCC).

• It is said that the complaint should be lodged within 3 months of the incident happened. However, the period can be extended by ICC. The woman can stand against the decision of the ICC by appealing to the court within 90 days.

• As per the act, the name of the victim, witness, and inquiry procedure remain confidential.

Conclusion

Before the pronouncement of Vishakha, India did not have a law on sexual harassment. There had been numerous instances of gender discrimination & sexual violence against women.  The Vishakha Case judgement highlighted the evil of sexual harassment. Sexual harassing a woman takes away their dignity, which is an inherent right of every human being and a single act of harassment creates a lifetime of sorrow. The Vishakha Guidelines and the enactment of 2013 have helped in eradicating the culture of sexual harassment at workplaces in some way or the other, there is still a lot to be done. among other things. What is required is the removal of stigma that is associated with the victims of such horrifying incidents.

FAQs- Vishakha Case

What are the Vishakha Case Guidelines?

The act also known as the POSH Act 2013 in the workplace rules gender equality by prohibiting sexual advances towards the woman employees.

Who was Banwari Devi?

Banwari Devi was a social activist from Rajasthan who worked to stop child marriage in an influential Gujjar family of a village.

Why Vishakha Case is famous?

Vishakha case took 17 long years to retain the landmark decision by the Supreme Court of India. The incident happened to Banwari Devi, a social activist who was gang-raped by influential people in the village because she stood against child marriage.

Elaborate on the Vishakha Case vs State of Rajasthan.

The growth of a society is determined by its approach to the weakest section. In addition, women and children are unsafe in some scenarios, so protecting their rights is what is utmost important. In general, harassment of women in their workplaces is a major concern that puts them in danger. That is why a powerfully built system of laws is necessitated. The Supreme Court’s verdict on the infamous Vishakha case that took place in the state of Rajasthan proved to be a historical decision because it set certain regulations to prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace.

What is the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013?

After a long battle of 17 years, the court declared the Vishakha guidelines and passed a law which is called the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013. It is commonly known by POSH which stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act. The sole purpose of this Act is to promote gender equality along with providing a safe and respected atmosphere for all employees.