Mondaq has recognised Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner, Anuradha Gandhi, Managing Associate Advocate, and Isha Sharma of S.S. Rana & Co. in its Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2025. Their article on the Hema Committee report placed second (#2) for India across all topics and first (#1) for India in Employment and HR, making it one of the most-read articles by any Indian author on Mondaq during the award period.
About the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards
Mondaq is an online publisher of legal, regulatory and financial commentary written by law firms and advisers around the world, and its awards site is co-branded with The Legal 500. Its Thought Leadership Awards recognise the authors whose articles readers turn to most.
Who qualifies: The awards draw on articles published on Mondaq by contributing firms and their authors, with separate results for each country and for a range of topics.
How winners are chosen: Mondaq decides the awards on total readership during the award period.
The format: For each country, Mondaq ranks the top three articles across all topics, then the top three in each individual topic. An All Topics placing therefore compares an article with every other article from that country, whatever its subject.
What the award recognises
The award recognises The Report Of The Expert Committee Constituted By The Government Of Kerala On Various Issues Faced By Women In Cinema, published on Mondaq on 29 October 2024. The authors set out:
The committee’s origins and method: How a petition from the Women in Cinema Collective led the Kerala government to appoint a three-member committee chaired by Justice K. Hema, a former judge of the High Court of Kerala, and how the committee gathered confidential evidence from women across the industry.
The issues it found: Sexual harassment from the point of entry into the industry, unsafe accommodation and transport, missing basic facilities on set, pay disparity, unwritten contracts, online harassment and informal bans that silence complaints.
Why the law falls short: Why existing laws, including the POSH Act, struggle to reach harassment that begins at auditions and casting calls, before an employment relationship exists.
The proposed remedy: The committee’s recommendation for a dedicated statute and tribunal for the film industry, and the kinds of conduct it would prohibit.
How an Internal Committee works under the POSH Act
For employers outside cinema, the report is a reminder of what the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 already requires.
Who must set one up: Every employer with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee at each office or administrative unit.
Who sits on it: A senior woman employee as Presiding Officer, at least two employees committed to the cause of women or with relevant experience or legal knowledge, and one external member from an NGO or association working on women’s issues. At least half the members must be women.
Time limits: Complaints should be made within three months of the incident, extendable by a further three months. The inquiry must finish within 90 days, the report must follow within 10 days, and the employer must act on it within 60 days.
Ongoing duties: Employers must display the consequences of sexual harassment at the workplace, run awareness programmes, and include details of cases in their annual reporting.
About the authors
Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner: Vikrant leads S.S. Rana & Co., a full-service IP and corporate law firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in New Delhi. Alongside his IP practice, he writes regularly on wider legal and regulatory developments, and has served as co-chair of INTA’s India Global Advisory Council.
Anuradha Gandhi, Managing Associate: Anuradha is a Managing Associate at S.S. Rana & Co. and co-authored the article.
Isha Sharma: Isha Sharma, Associate at S.S. Rana & Co. co-authored the article.
Recognition in Spring 2025
| Award | Recognition | Recipient |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #2, All Topics | Vikrant Rana, Anuradha Gandhi, Isha Sharma |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #1, Employment and HR | Vikrant Rana, Anuradha Gandhi, Isha Sharma |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | Top Firms | S.S. Rana & Co. |
See the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards for India, Spring 2025 and the Employment and HR results, our pages on the article’s #1 placing in Employment and HR for Vikrant Rana and for Anuradha Gandhi and Isha Sharma, and our page on the firm’s Spring 2025 Top Firms recognition. Vikrant’s other 2025 recognitions include the WTR 1000, Chambers Asia-Pacific and Managing IP’s Trademark Star. Each recognition is recorded on our Awards page.
We congratulate Vikrant, Anuradha and Isha, and thank the readers in India and around the world who read and shared their work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mondaq Spring 2025 VR AG IS
Yes. Their article on the Hema Committee report placed second (#2) for India across all topics, and first (#1) for India in Employment and HR, in the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2025.
“The Report Of The Expert Committee Constituted By The Government Of Kerala On Various Issues Faced By Women In Cinema”, published on Mondaq on 29 October 2024.
The All Topics placing ranks articles by readership across every subject area for a country, so a second-place finish for India means the article was among the most-read pieces by any Indian author on Mondaq during the award period.
An Internal Committee is chaired by a senior woman employee as Presiding Officer, includes at least two employees committed to the cause of women or with relevant experience or legal knowledge, and one external member from an NGO or association working on women’s issues. At least half the members must be women.
A complaint should be made within three months of the incident, which the committee can extend by a further three months for good reason. The inquiry must be completed within 90 days, the report issued within 10 days of completing the inquiry, and the employer must act on it within 60 days.
Yes. S.S. Rana & Co. is listed among the Top Firms for India in the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2025.
Write to info@ssrana.com with a short description of your matter, and the firm will connect you with the right team.
For more information on Employment Law, Labour Law Compliance, POSH Act Compliance, Internal Committee Constitution, POSH Policy Drafting, POSH Training and Awareness, Workplace Investigations, Employment Contracts, Code of Conduct, Labour Codes, Contract Labour, Employee Grievances, Media and Entertainment Law and Regulatory Compliance in India write to us at info@ssrana.com