A PIL was today filed in the Madras High Court seeking direction to the Tamil Nadu government to set up internal complaints committees in all departments and organisations in consonance with a Supreme Court judgement in Vishaka case.
The first bench, headed by Chief Justice V K Tahilramani, transferred the public interest litigation (PIL)petition filed by Prem Anand to another bench headed by Justice S Manikumar.
The petitioner while referring to the judgement of the apex court in Vishakha case said the court had on August 13, 1997 laid down 12 guidelines to be followed by employers to prevent or deter acts of sexual harassment.
Despite the order, no internal or local complaints committee was constituted by employers in the state, he claimed.
He said even after five years of the Parliament enacting the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, thousands of private and public sector establishments, schools and colleges, factories and others have not constituted the committee as contemplated under Section 4 of the Act.
Also citing a news report that a woman superintendent of police was subjected to sexual harassment at her workplace by a superior earlier this month and that the State DGP had formed the internal complaints committee only on August 17, 2018, the petitioner said the situation was alarming in the state.
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