The recent ruling by the Delhi High Court in case of Ms. Ruchika Singh Chhabra v M/S Air France India and Anr., will require the companies to review the constitution of their Internal Complainants Committee (“ICC”). The court held if the appointment of the external member for the ICC is not in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”), the proceedings so conducted by such ICC are invalid.

Facts

• The complainant/appellant alleged that she had been subject to sexual harassment by the Marketing Manager of Air France on multiple occasions. She further alleged that in order to victimize/retaliate against her for complaining against incidents of sexual harassment, she was compelled to resign.
• The complainant filed a complaint with the ICC constituted by Air France. She contended that the constitution of the ICC is contrary to the provisions of the POSH Act as the external member appointed to the committee is not associated with a non-government organization and his qualifications were not informed to the complainant. Further, the member so appointed is a labour lawyer who has not disclosed whether he or his organization has been engaged for profit by Air France.
• It is pertinent to note that the external member had been engaged by Air France in the past.

Issue

The main issue is whether the ICC was constituted in accordance with the POSH Act.

Findings

• The objective behind the requirement of a member from non-governmental organizations or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues of sexual harassment is to prevent the possibility of undue pressure or influence from senior levels.
• There is nothing on the record to show that the external member is from a non-government organization or has experience in dealing with sexual harassment cases or the cause of women in general.
• Air France had clearly made an error in relying on Rule 4 of the POSH Rules which provides that an external member could be a person who is familiar with labour service, civil or criminal law. This is applicable only to the constitution of the Local Complaints Committee and not ICC.
• The ICC constitution was clearly in violation of the POSH Act as the external member did not fall within the qualifications laid down under the POSH Act. Consequently, the resultant proceedings by the ICC were declared invalid.

Analysis

In the light of the above judgement, it is important that the external member (for the ICC) appointed by a company/ employer should be an independent person and there should not be any conflict of interest between the external member so appointed and other services she may provide to the employer, Accordingly, it would imply that if the external member is providing other services to the organization which has appointed her, the appointment of such external member could also come under the scanner. These other services could potentially include acting as an advisor on other matters for the organization and possibly include conduct of trainings which may be streamlined to the ethos of the organization.