Maneka Gandhi comes down on delay in probe of sexual harassment cases in govt offices

Union minister of women and child development Maneka Gandhi on Friday announced a review of the sexual harassment committees in government offices, because of the intermittent delays the probes are facing, which do not adhere to deadlines. “I will review the handling of complaints of #SexualHarassmentAtWorkplace at my level,” tweeted the minister, adding that the issue will the be extended to complaints in non-government organisations. 

Gandhi’s tweets come over a month after the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a second order reiterating that the chairperson of an internal complaints committee is competent even if she is junior to the accused in rank. In a memo dated September 9, 2016, and another dated July 11, 2016, the DoPT issued orders about the seniority of the chairperson of the complaint committee.  

“The issue of the legality of a committee conducting an inquiry against an officer against whom there are allegations of sexual harassment but where the Chairperson happens to be junior in rank to the suspect officer has been examined. It is clarified that there is no bar either in the CCS (CCA) Rules or under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 to the Chairperson of the Complaints Committee being junior to the suspect officer or the charged officer,” read the September 9 order. 

“Recently, many references for clarification on the rank of the Chairperson of the Complaints Committee vis a vis the employee against whom the allegations have been made have come to this Department. The matter has been examined in consultation with the Department of Legal Affairs and Ministry of Women & Child Development. It is clarified that the committee constituted in terms of the SHWW (PPR) Act, 2013 is legally competent to hold an inquiry into a case irrespective of the fact that the Chairperson of such Committee is lower in rank to the employee against whom the allegations have been made,” read the July 11 order. 

A DoPT official, who issued the order, said that usually all departments have senior female government officials, and cases are rare where the chairperson of the complaints committee, who is mandated to be a woman, is junior to the accused. “Yet, there have been cases which prompted the order. There has been one case which led us to issue the first order, wherein the accused, who was of a senior rank dismissed the report made by the complaints committee,” said the official. 

The DoPT, however, did not have a repository of all the complaints that have come out of government offices. 

Gandhi said that several women have approached her with complaints of delays in probes involving senior officials. She also tweeted that she will meet the heads of internal complaints committees in the several departments in government offices and ministries to “make presentations on selected cases of complaints filed by Women Officials.” She added that strict advisories to all government offices will be sent after that, and asked women officials to email complaints to her, if any. 

“I’m compiling these cases, and trying to understand why is it that several government offices are not putting off probes, as the women have alleged,” Gandhi told DNA. 

A ministry official said that several complaints have come about how complaints are lying idle for months. “Cases that have come to us have been lying idle for two years, and most of them do not have the sensitivity to deal with these cases,” said the official.