POSH Act is also applicable in cases where Complainant and Harasser is placed in Different Department- Delhi High Court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

W.P.(C) 8624/2023 & CM APPL. 32735/2023, CM APPL. 32736/2023

DR SOHAIL MALIK                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ..... Petitioner

Through: Mr. Arun Bhardwaj, Sr. Adv.

with Mr. R.K. Saini, Mr. Nishant Bahuguna

and Ms. Usha Sharma, Adv.

versus

UNION OF INDIA & ANR.                                                                                                                                                                                                             ..... Respondents

Through: Mr. Vineet Dhanda, CGSC with Mr.

Vinay Yadav and Ms. Gurleen Kaur, Advs.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.HARI SHANKAR

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ JAIN

JUDGMENT (ORAL)

30.06.2023

per C. HARI SHANKAR, J.

1. If a woman employee in one department of the Government of India is sexually harassed by an employee of another department, would she, or would she not, be entitled to invoke the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (―the SHW Act‖, hereinafter)? The petitioner would seek to submit that the answer has necessarily to be in the negative. In other words, according to the petitioner, one has to be sexually harassed by a colleague in one’s own department, for the SHW Act to apply.

2. This writ petition, directed against judgment dated 23 June 2023 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (―the learned Tribunal‖) in OA 1838/2023, requires the Court to address this issue, which, the petitioner submits, is thus far res integra.

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