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SUJOY PAUL
Mukesh Khampariya – Appellant
Versus
State of M. P. – Respondent
ORDER
1. This petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution assails the order dated 25.6.2018 (Annexure R-1) and the enquiry report dated 25.7.2018 (Annexure P-1) whereby the petitioner was held guilty for committing sexual harassment at the workplace.
2. Draped in brevity, the relevant facts are that the petitioner was working as Station House Officer (SHO), in Police Station Gadarwara, District Narsinghpur between 27.8.2016 to 24.3.2017. During that period, respondent No.7 was posted in the said police station as SubInspector.
3. As per the stand of the petitioner, the petitioner was an officer supervising the work and duties of respondent No.7. Since respondent No.7 committed dereliction of duty on more than one occasion, certain orders taking coercive action were passed which are filed cumulatively as Annexure P-2. Respondent No.7 as an after thought preferred a frivolous complaint dated 16.3.2017 alleging that petitioner committed sexual harassment in the workplace. Pursuant to the complaint dated 16.3.2017 (Annexure P-4), an internal complaint committee was constituted as per the Sexual Harassment of Woman at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal), 2013 (Act of
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.
Point of law; When the competent authority recorded its satisfaction based on the material placed before him along with the complaint that itself suffice to place a Government servant under suspensio....
The central legal point established in the judgment is the importance of complying with the statutory provisions and principles of natural justice in cases of alleged sexual harassment at the workpla....
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