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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V, K. V. JAYAKUMAR
.......... .......... .......... – Appellant
Versus
Abraham Mathai, S/o Mathai – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Raja Vijayaraghavan V, J.
The above-captioned appeal has been preferred, challenging the judgment dated 03.12.2024 in W.P.(C) No. 39915 of 2018 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court. By the above judgment, the report dated 22.08.2018 of the Local Committee ("LC" for the sake of brevity) constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013 ("PoSH Act" for the sake of brevity) and the communication dated 19.09.2018 issued by the District Collector were held to be illegal and ultra vires of the provisions of PoSH Act and the same were quashed.
2. Short facts of the case are as under:
2.1. The 1st respondent herein is the Managing Director of a Company by name "Amstor Information Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd." The said Company is having its operation at Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram. His wife was also a Director of the said Company. The appellant herein was employed as an Accountant cum Manager in the Company, and she was appointed by the wife, who was one of the Directors, on 02.06.1997. It appears that the appellant was terminated from service with effect from 07.11.2017.
2.2. The appellant approached the Lab
Absence of a written complaint under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act nullifies the validity of the inquiry and violates principles of natural justice.
A written complaint is mandatory for initiating an inquiry under the POSH Act; inquiries conducted without it are illegal.
The constitution and conduct of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) and the Central ....
The PoSH Act mandates the establishment of Internal Committees for addressing sexual harassment complaints, and deficiencies in their formation and function undermine the Act's objectives, requiring ....
The Central Complaints Committee's findings on sexual harassment claims were upheld, emphasizing the importance of thorough inquiry and the principle of preponderance of probabilities in disciplinary....
The jurisdiction of the Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH Act extends beyond the respondent's workplace, allowing for inquiries at the aggrieved woman's workplace, thus upholding the Act's....
The court held that dual conflicting enquiry reports undermine the validity of sexual harassment findings, thus necessitating the quashing of subsequent administrative actions against the accused.
The main legal point established is that the Presiding Officer of the Internal Complaints Committee must be a higher level woman officer in accordance with Section 4(2)(a) of the Sexual Harassment of....
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