MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has observed that registration of an FIR is no bar for constituting internal complaints committee and conducting inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment against women at workplace.
Justice SM Subramaniam was hearing a plea filed by a school headmaster challenging the deputation order by School Education Department for two teachers who had filed sexual harassment complaints against him. Noting that the two women teachers were directed to register police complaints over the sexual and mental harassment, the judge directed the District Educational Officer (DEO) to relieve the two teachers from the previous school and permit them to join the institution to which they have been transferred.
The court also allowed the DEO to seize the teachers’ service records and certificates and safeguard them until the police probe is completed. “The DEO must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee under Section 4 of the Women Harassment Act and conduct a parallel enquiry as there is no bar for continuance of enquiry by the committee even during the pendency of the criminal case,” it added. Directing the police to submit the case FIRs to the court, the court adjourned the case to March 14.
Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2022/mar/12/fir-no-bar-to-form-inquiry-panel-on-harassment-plaints-madras-hc-2429143.html
