From the Internal Complaints Committee of the Women and Child Department (WCD) of the Delhi government “brushing aside” complaints of sexual harassment, to pointing out a “bizarrely shocking turn of events” where one complainant, who accused officer Premoday Khakha of sexual harassment, was told by the committee via email, “We will not help you”, Minister Atishi has highlighted the “inadequate” response of the government in addressing complaints against the WCD officer. Khakha was serving as a deputy director in WCD and was suspended after being arrested for allegedly raping a minor under his care. Four complaints of sexual harassment, one of which was filed anonymously, had also been filed against him previously by women working in the department. Atishi had asked Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to prepare a detailed report on the allegations and the action taken. Her comments, which flagged the “inefficient” and “laid-back” approach of officials, came in response to the report. “In a bizarrely shocking turn of events, in one of the cases, the complainant received a one-line email from ICC stating ‘we will not help you’.Through whatever systematic error it may have occurred, it is surely to put doubts in the mind of the complainant about receiving any justice at the hands of such an ICC,” Atishi wrote. The minister also said the ICC in all the given cases had “brushed aside what are clearly issues pertaining to sexual harassment” as “casual remarks made by officers and staff” or “lack of clarity with regard to administrative matters”. In her file noting, marked to Kumar, the minister said, “It is unfortunate to see that repeatedly sexual harassment complaints were received against the same person, and all of them pointed to his misbehaviour with women in the workplace, yet our system was not vigilant enough to identify and stop this pattern.” She said the approach had “allowed the accused to escape any repercussions and that may have emboldened him further”. “This failure on our part to identify such problematic behaviour and mete out corrective actions is partly to be held responsible for the heinous crime that has followed,” reads the noting. Khakha was arrested last month for allegedly raping the minor, who was living with him and his family after the death of her father in 2020. His wife Seema Rani was arrested for allegedly giving the girl “abortion pills” and terminating her pregnancy which was a result of the assault. It was after the arrest that it came to light that four complaints of sexual harassment were filed against Khakha in the past. “This exceptionally disturbing incident of sexual harassment needs to be a wakeup call for us. We can’t allow such behaviour to go unchecked in the system, especially when there is a huge power imbalance between the complainant and the accused. The government employee, backed as he is by the entire force and legal machinery of the government as well as the power to issue enquiry on contractual employees and terminate their contracts, holds far more power over the complainants.,” said Atishi. Pointing out how the four women had to run from pillar to post to find out the correct process to lodge their complaints, the minister said that “the composition of ICC seems to be suspect”. “Members of ICC should ideally be of a level senior to the accused and not in the direct line of power either above or below the accused. Besides, a complainant has alleged that her ICC was composed of members who were employed on a contractual basis and the accused held power over the termination or extension of their contracts. Such issues sow seeds of doubt not just in the minds of complainants but also any third-party observer trying to gauge the government's response to such serious allegations,” said Atishi. In her observation in the matter, she said that Khakha was a senior officer in the WCD with long-standing relations in the system and the power to terminate and extend contracts of partner organisations. While all the complainants in this case have been employees of a partner NGO. “. the power dynamic becomes a huge factor when hearing such cases. The awareness and sensitivity to the imbalance in power seem to be missing in our processes.," read her noting. The minister also pointed out that the complainants also alleged in the High Court that the presiding officer of the ICC and Khakha were colleagues. She also pointed out that the department, in trying to defend itself in court, sided with the accused, ignoring “glaring complaints of misbehaviour”. "I am ashamed of this behaviour on our part.I am both alarmed and disappointed by the department's inability to identify and take action against this repeated pattern of harassment by an employee of the WCD. When multiple complaints come up against the same employee, surely it needs to ring alarm bells in our mind and a deeper investigation should be warranted." Atishi also directed Kumar to create a system to flag cases when an official of the Delhi Government has been accused of sexual harassment and intimidation "repeatedly". "Repeated complaints are a potential indicator of a pattern of behaviour towards women. If not checked at the right time, it can result in very serious crimes. Therefore, a process needs to be created whereby such officers are kept away from sensitive posts and action is taken against those who have a pattern of repeated sexual harassment," said Atishi. Saying that both the ICC and the employees of the Delhi government seem to be in dire need of training regarding what constitutes sexual harassment at the workplace in the eyes of the law..she said, "This casual approach towards problematic misogynistic behaviour, as shown by the ICCs is the seed of the problem. All sexual harassment victims do not have to be perfect victims and all sexual harassment charges do not have to include physical molestation or rape, before the government regards them as serious issues." The document also says that the complainants also approached the Secretary WCD, DCW and the office of Deputy CM and this also led to a delay in a formal complaint being lodged, for no fault of the complainants. The WCD minister has also directed Kumar to draft detailed processes and rules to strengthen the ICC across all government departments and bodies and has been asked to take action within 10 days.
