Rules of sexual harassment law yet to be notified

Tehelka did not have an ICC and a committee has only now been constituted after the alleged incident.

India got a landmark law against sexual harassment at workplace in April this year,making it mandatory for all offices with 10 or more employees to have an internal complaints committee (ICC). But seven months later,the Women and Child Development Ministry finds its tough law toothless in the Tehelka case as the rules under the Act are yet to be notified.

Tehelka did not have an ICC and a committee has only now been constituted after the alleged incident to look into the allegations against Tarun Tejpal.

The rules were sent to the Law Ministry for vetting last July but despite several reminders,the document is yet to come back to its ministry of origin. Incidentally,a committee to deal with sexual harrassment in every office was also one of the directives of the Vishakha judgment.

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Though under the law,sexual harrassment is a civil offence and the seriousness of the allegations against Tejpal may mean that under the modified Indian Penal Code he could be tried for rape,officials in the ministry say the absence of ICC could have meant more trouble for Tehelka had the rules been notified.

Under the rules it is the state government that can seek explanation about why the prescribed mechanism for dealing with sexual harrassment in the workplace had not been put in place by the magazine. However,at the moment,they have not been notified. We had sent the rules to the Law Ministry in July and have followed up several times since. Now that the matter has snowballed,we are told that they are trying to clear it as soon as possible, said a senior official in the ministry.

Failure to constitute an ICC and follow due process could mean a Rs 50,000 fine at first instance,double that amount if convicted a second time and on repetition,cancellation of licence or registration. Action is to be taken by the respective state governments.