The Supreme Court of India has approved and mandated a comprehensive handbook titled “Judgments and Gender (Sensitivity and Compassion in Writing Judgments)” for all courts, police and prosecution agencies, aimed at replacing patriarchal and stereotypical language with survivor-centric, trauma-informed practices.
Prepared by an Expert Committee of the National Judicial Academy under former Supreme Court Justice Aniruddha Bose, the Handbook supersedes the Court’s 2023 “Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes” and lays down clear, accessible guidance covering FIR registration, trial management, cross-examination and judgment writing.
Can compensation be enforced against an accused while his statutory appeal against the Internal Committee’s findings is still pending?
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside a ₹35 lakh compensation order, holding that a pending appeal under Section 18 of the POSH Act must be adjudicated first.
The judgment reinforces that the right to appeal under the POSH Act is a substantive statutory safeguard, and not a mere procedural formality.
When a husband and wife become colleagues, where does the marital dispute end and where does POSH begin?
The Allahabad High Court has put this difficult question under the spotlight after staying disciplinary proceedings against an employee following a POSH complaint filed by his wife, who worked in the same office.
The case raises challenging but important questions for ICs, HR professionals and employers – does being married take a complaint outside the POSH Act, and can marital discord be treated as workplace sexual harassment?
