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Human rights

Supreme Court to Examine Plea for Implementation of POSH Act for Women Lawyers

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Supreme Court of India has agreed to examine a plea seeking the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, for women lawyers enrolled with State Bar Councils or Bar Associations. The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued a notice to the Centre and the Bar Council of India, while hearing a plea filed by advocate Seema Joshi. The petitioner's counsel agreed to delete the prayer for setting aside a Bombay High Court judgment, which held that the POSH law applied only in an employer-employee relationship. The plea seeks directions to implement and apply the POSH Act to women advocates enrolled with State Bar Councils/Bar Associations, as well as to constitute/continue internal committees to hear complaints of women advocates.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea for the implementation of the POSH Act for women lawyers enrolled with State Bar Councils or Bar Associations.
  • The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued a notice to the Centre and the Bar Council of India.
  • The plea was filed by advocate and author Seema Joshi, seeking directions to implement and apply the POSH Act to women advocates enrolled with State Bar Councils/Bar Associations.
  • The petitioner's counsel agreed to delete the prayer for setting aside a Bombay High Court judgment, which held that the POSH law applied only in an employer-employee relationship.
  • The plea highlights the risk of uneven protection for women lawyers in India, which is contrary to the mandate of the statute.
  • The Preamble to the POSH Act states that sexual harassment violates a woman's fundamental rights to equality, life, and dignity.
  • The plea seeks the constitution/continuation of internal committees to hear complaints of women advocates.

Statistics:

  • None provided in the source material.

Sources:

  • Supreme Court of India (as quoted in the article)
  • Early Times (with permission from HT Media Ltd.)
  • SyndiGate Media Inc. (access provided by the source)

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