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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.PUGALENDHI
Muthu Selvi – Appellant
Versus
Director of Elementary Education – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. allegations of sexual harassment by petitioners. (Para 1 , 6 , 7) |
| 2. procedural violations in the committee's inquiry. (Para 2 , 3) |
| 3. existence of appellate remedy under the act. (Para 4 , 8) |
| 4. court's review of the committee's findings process. (Para 5 , 9) |
| 5. court's decision to set aside the report and remand. (Para 10 , 11 , 12) |
ORDER :
1. The petitioners are working as Headmistresses in the primary schools and they have made certain allegations against the 6th respondent / Block Educational Officer that he has sexually harassed them. Apart from these petitioners, another Headmistress of Nagakonaanoor namely Radharani has also lodged a similar complaint against the 6th respondent. All these complaints were referred to the Internal Complaints Committee constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 [herein after shall be referred as 'the Act']. The internal complaints committee [herein after shall be referred to as 'the committee'] has submitted its report dated 25.05.2022 that the complainants have not substantiated their complaints with documents and that the complainants have participated in the f
The internal complaints committee must adhere to principles of natural justice, including providing findings to parties, to ensure fair inquiry under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.
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....
Inquiries under the Sexual Harassment Act must be conducted where witnesses reside to ensure fairness, and parties must exhaust appellate remedies before seeking judicial review.
The court emphasized that procedural safeguards and principles of natural justice must be strictly adhered to in disciplinary inquiries against probationers, including the right to be heard and to cr....
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....
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