Death caused by toxic work culture a social problem, says Delhi High Court

However, Justice Singh in its January 19 order granted anticipatory bail to the former secretary.

The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by the husband of the deceased against the chief manager, director and the secretary of CBIP on the ground that they pressurised and abetted his wife to die by suicide on May 5, 2020.

The chief manager and director were already on bail, it was noted. The husband of the deceased employee alleged that his wife had sent two emails to the former secretary complaining about the behaviour of senior officials and had encouraged the creation of a “hostile work environment” in the office. He argued that this led to the deceased’s resignation pursuant to which she took the “extreme step of committing suicide” on May 5, 2020.

Justice Singh held that there was nothing on record to show that the former secretary was “mandated in law to be legally bound to act on” the deceased’s email. “At best not acting on the email of 12.04.2020 and 13.08.2019 sent by the deceased may be a dereliction of duty or a casual approach by the applicant but cannot by any stretch mean to be an illegal omission under Section 107 IPC,” the HC said.

The HC further said that even if it assumed that the former secretary did not act upon the deceased’s email, the same does not fall within the definition of illegal omission under the IPC.

The HC was of the view that the death can be attributed to mental stress but cannot be brought within the parameters of abetment under the IPC. “On 12.04.2020 when the e-mail was sent, it was the height of the first wave of Covid-19 pandemic and everyone was working from home. Thereafter, the contract of the applicant came to an end on 31.05.2020,” the HC noted.

On the toxic work culture, Justice Singh said that it was a problem plaguing all booming economies. “In Japan, there is a term used for the same called “karoshi‟ which means “overwork deaths,‟ i.e., a large number of deaths caused on account of a hostile working environment which causes physical and mental stress. The government of Japan acknowledged this as a socio-economic problem and not a criminal offence. Subsequently, the government of Japan has drafted policies that address mental health in workplaces. What is needed is an examination of the issues of overwork and occupational stress focusing on mental health at the workplace,” the court said.

Allowing the plea, the HC directed that the former secretary shall join investigation as and when directed by the concerned Investigating Officer and fully cooperate with the same.