By Anuradha Gandhi and Rachita Thakur
Introduction
The People’s union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court over the brutal rape and murder of trainee doctor and second year post graduate student of RG Kar College and Hospital campus (hereinafter referred to as the “Hospital”) in Kolkata. The incident of happened on the night of August 09, 2024 has shocked the conscience of the entire nation resulting in nation-wide protests and strike by medical students and doctors demanding justice for the victim.
The Petition, filed by Advocate Jhuma Sen, requesting for court-monitored investigation and compliance report from the West Bengal government on the implementation of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the POSH Act) which was enacted following the Supreme Court guidelines in the case of Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa. [1]
It must be noted that the official website of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital does not display any information about the constitution of Internal Committee or the POSH Policy of the Hospital.
What does the Plea say?
The Plea highlights the need to examine the institutional accountability, including the roles of the Principal and other officials at the Hospital. The High Court previously had criticized the Principal’s actions post-incidents and his re-appointment by another college. The Court called the actions to be suspicious and placed him on ‘indefinite leave’. The Principal had resigned from the post two days after the crime, taking moral responsibility for the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. However, within hours of his resignation, he became the head of another medical college. The Calcutta High Court dismissed the state’s government’s move and said that the Principal should be the first person to be questioned in the matter.[2]
Note – Under Section 2(g) (ii) of the POSH Act, an “Employer” includes the person who is responsible for management, supervision and control of the workplace.
On August 13, 2024, the Calcutta High Court had transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) citing significant lapses in investigation by the Kolkata Police. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sivagnanam noted, “Even after a lapse of five days, there appears to be no significant progress in the investigation… we would be well-justified in accepting the plea… that there is every possibility that the evidence will be destroyed and the witnesses will be influenced”.
Supreme Court considers mandating States to create online dashboards with Internal Committee information
In 2023, in the case of Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (Supra), the Supreme had flagged the lack of enforcement and implementation of POSH Act and directed the Union of India, all State Governments and the Union Territories to undertake a timebound exercise to verify as to whether all the concerned Ministries, Departments, Government organizations, authorities, Public Sector Undertakings, institutions, bodies, etc. have constituted ICCs/LCs/ICs, as the case may be and that the composition of the said Committees are strictly in terms of the provisions of the POSH Act.[3]
Arising from the following judgment, the Supreme Court heard the matter relating to implementation of POSH Act in all States and Union Territories on August 13, 2024. While hearing the Supreme Court indicated that it would direct all the States and Union Territories to prepare an online dashboard containing all the relevant information pertaining to the constitution and members of the Internal Committees of the departments.[4]
To read more:
https://ssrana.in/articles/supreme-court-guidelines-bridge-lacuna-posh-implementation/
https://ssrana.in/articles/wfi-vs-sports-ministry-sexual-harassment-tussle-continues/
[1] Civil Appeal No. 2482 of 2014