| Court | Supreme Court of India |
|---|---|
| Citation | (1997) 6 SCC 241; AIR 1997 SC 3011 |
| Decided | 13 August 1997 |
| Bench | Chief Justice J.S. Verma, Justice Sujata V. Manohar, Justice B.N. Kirpal |
Facts
Bhanwari Devi, a social worker (saathin) in a Rajasthan government programme, tried to stop a child marriage in her village. In retaliation she was allegedly gang-raped. Women's rights groups, under the name Vishaka, filed a public interest petition. They pointed out that India had no law to protect women from sexual harassment at the workplace.
Issue
In the absence of legislation, can the Court lay down binding norms to protect women's fundamental rights to equality, to practise any profession, and to life and dignity at work (Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21)?
Held
- Sexual harassment at the workplace violates Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21.
- Where there is no domestic law, the Court can rely on international conventions that India has ratified, here CEDAW, to interpret Fundamental Rights, so long as they are consistent with them.
- The Court laid down the Vishaka Guidelines, binding on all employers until Parliament legislated. They defined sexual harassment, required employers to prevent it, and required a complaints committee headed by a woman with at least half its members women and an outside NGO member.
What happened next
The Guidelines were replaced by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (the POSH Act). It requires every employer with 10 or more employees to set up an Internal Committee, and provides Local Committees at district level.
Why it matters
- It is a leading example of judicial law-making to fill a legislative vacuum.
- It established that ratified international treaties can be read into Fundamental Rights.
- It created the framework for workplace sexual harassment law in India.
Exam one-liner
Workplace sexual harassment violates Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21; the Court framed binding guidelines using CEDAW, later codified in the POSH Act, 2013. (Vishaka, 1997)