A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court that demands the 1997 Vishakha Guidelines of the Supreme Court, which were later given the shape of a statute under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, to the religious institutions. The PIL has been filed in backdrop of n-number of sexual harassment, rape and molestations cases coming up from these set of institutions.

Why were Vishakha Guidelines given in first place?

• It was only in 1997, that the country recognised the crime of sexual harassment. Prior to 1997, a person facing sexual harassment at workplace had to lodge a complaint under section 354 of the IPC that deals with criminal assault to outrage women’s modesty. Section 509 could also be invoked that deals with punishment for usage of words, gestures or acts intending to insult the modesty of the women in the country.
• It was in 1990s that in Rajasthan a state employee, Bhanwari Devi, who was associated with the state to prevent Child Marriage under the Women Development Programme was raped by the landlords of the community. When Bhanvari Devi couldn’t get justice from the Rajasthan High Court, she was supported by the women’s rights group called Vishakha that filed a PIL in the Supreme Court. Under this PIL, the Supreme Court recognised that a the country is missing domestic law to formulate effective measures to check the evil of sexual harassment of working women at all work places. In this case, in 1997, the Supreme Court gave the guidelines popularly called Vishakha Guidelines.
• The snail pace legislature of the country and the executive took next 16 years to draft a law on these guidelines. The sloth paced organs - the legislature and the executive - finally came up with the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act only in 2013.

Autopsy of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act

• The Civil Services Aspirant part inside me compel me to do the critical analysis of the sexual harassment at workplace act. The act has been hailed by the executive as a full proof statute to fight the menace of the sexual harassment at workplace. However, in reality, like any other statue of the government, the statute has surfaced up with many of the loopholes which will be discussed later in the document.
• Picking up first things first, let us look at the positive aspects of the statute. The merit of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act lies in the face that it is the first such statute to deal with the matter comprehensively. The definition of the victim is an enlarged one. It covers the women of all ages in any employment standing. It has wide coverage that includes women in contractual employment as well as regular employment as well as any avenue where the women is voluntarily involved. The wideness of the coverage can be assessed with the fact that it extends even to the domestic workers. Further, the definition of employment itself is rather a stretched one. It even extends to the travelling which is part of the official duty. The act further provides for internal complaints committee in any organisation or branch that has 10 or more than 10 employees. The Local Complaints Committee for further appeal against the decision of the Internal Complaints Committee or to cater to the cases Internal Complaints Committee has not be constituted. The act also provide for time limits. It put a time limit of 90 days to complete the inquiries of the internal complaints committee and 60 days to finish the appeals filed before the local complaints committee. It is also to be noted that the local complaints committee and the internal complaints committee are provided the power of Civil Courts.
• However, all is not well with the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act. The act provides for only one dimension of sexual harassment i.e. females. There are times the males may be sexually harassed and this dimension is missing from the act. The act needs to be more gender neutral. Further, it is seen that in many of the institutions, the Internal Complaints Committee is either not constituted or is missing. It is also seen that the complaints committees do not adhere to the time limits. Further, the act is silent on where to appeal if the time limits by the complaints committees are not adhered by. The act also provides for conciliation as a measure to resolve the grievance of sexual harassment. It is a harsh reality that women in the country constitute only 27% of the labour force and most of them are in the informal sector. It is clear from the fact above that the organisations in the country ought to be dominated by the males and to prevent the damage to the reputation of the organisation, the women may be under, undue pressure, would be forced to opt for conciliation. This provision dilutes the very purpose of the act. The act is very much criticised on the fact that it does not provide for suo motu powers for investigation and the law remains blind unless someone knocks the door for justice by herself. Last major criticism of the act is that the act provides for financial compensation to the victim but the financial compensation is proportional to the rank of the culprit. If the culprit is higher in the hierarchy, he will be fined more and if he is lower in the hierarchy, the fine will be lesser. This is a vague and rather uncalled for approach to cater to the compensation dimension under the act. Crime is a crime cannot be seen through any lens of hierarchy in the organisation.

Sexual Harassment Act extension to Religious Institutions: How justified it is?

• After the TV channel broadcasting in the country was allowed with FDI, the number of TV channels proliferated in the country. The same is the case with those TV Channels that provide spiritual content. This led to mushrooming of self-styled Godmen who call themselves as Sons of God to deliver the message of the almighty.
• The various religious texts in the country preach that the spiritual saint or guru should be one who is almost on the verge of achieving salvation. Saint is the one who is far from desires and especially the carnal feelings. However, the various Godmen in recent past have come up with an alternative narration. The likes of Baba Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, Asaram Bapu, Daati Maharaj etc. have proved that the Babas, Maulvis and Bishops are not immune to carnal desires leading to several instances of rape, molestation and sexual harassment being reported from this quarter. This calls for the very requirement that the sexual harassment legislation be extended to these institutions.
• Further, it these institutions are the one where people rests their spiritual ambitions and beliefs. When such self-styled Godmen tarnish the modesty of women, they not only commit an act of sexual harassment but also tarnish the very faith and belief of their followers. This is a break of fiduciary relations. They cannot be allowed to escape without being brought to justice.

Conclusion

The religious institutions and the self-styled Godmen in the country are on a spree of exploding in numbers. This calls for certain measures that need to be taken in this regard. Firstly, the religious institutions should be brought under the definition of workplace under the Sexual Harassment Act. The self-styled Godmen should also pass through some background checks to ascertain their spiritual knowledge. The religious institutions should be kept under the vigil of the state particularly when these institutions are going for earning huge riches and are also exempted from the taxes. The secularism in India not only allows the government to protect and promote each religion by providing them equal level play field but also is responsible for the security of the spiritual interests, religious beliefs and faith of the MANGO PEOPLE OF THIS BANANA REPUBLIC.