INTRODUCTION:
The Bar Council of India is a statutory body overseeing the legal education and the legal profession in India. The legal profession in India has been regarded as the pillar of justice, fairness and equity, despite all these commitments the profession in itself is not fully immune to the internal challenges surfacing, particularly in the relation with the workplace safety measures and equality. And in its recent update it stated a landmark mandate which involves all the legal institutions from the bar associations, law and courts to the legal aid clinics existing, to involve the compliance measures of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH).
The significant expansion in the BCI’s recent updates have marked a great shift in the regulatory approach. Earlier the BCI’s focus has been on the issues such as the professional ethics, enrolment of advocates, their legal education standards etc. By introducing the mandatory POSH compliance in the legal sector, the BCI has expanded its regulatory framework to include safety at workplace, equality and institutional accountability. This initiative is particularly crucial in the context where the number of women getting enrolled in the legal sector is significantly rising. Despite the growth, women lawyers, advocates, interns, juniors etc, face hardships in the working environment. The BCI’s directives aims at addressing the structural challenges faced in the institutions and to ensure that every legal cell, workplace establishes formal mechanisms for prevention, reporting, and regarding the redressal of the sexual harassment complaints. These measures will altogether work to transform the legal profession into a safer and more inclusive environment where all the practitioners can work with dignity, safety, grace and equality.
BACKGROUND:
The legal basis for the workplace protection can be traced back to the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, which talked about the sexual harassment at the workplace and was stated as the violation of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under the articles 14,15,19,21 of the Constitution of India. Since there was no statutory law at that time, the court formulated the Vishaka Guidelines which provided a framework consisting of guidelines and measures for addressing the sexual harassment complaints in workplace across the country.
These guidelines later formed the foundational part of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly stated as the POSH Act. This act plays a significant role in imposing the legal obligations to create a safe workplace and also establishing mechanisms for addressing the complaints related to the sexual harassment. The Act requires the formation of the ICC (Internal Complaints Committee) in an organization of 10 or more persons in that.
KEY POINTS:
- The BCI stated that every institution should mandatorily establish an ICC comprising of a senior woman as a presiding officer, and at least half of the members should be women and having an external NGO representative in the committee. Here the committee holds certain powers such as the quasi-judicial powers to investigate the case, recommend actions, terminate or transfer and ensures confidentiality.
- To conduct mandatory training programs consisting of annual workshops, e-learning modules, and orientation programs for new entrants. These training programs are expected to educate the participants about the forms of harassment including the quid pro quo harassment.
- The directives also mandated the adoption of the POSH policy by every legal institution. This policy defines sexual harassment, complaint procedures and specify the responsibilities of the employers and employees to maintain a peaceful and respectful working environment. In addition, the annual compliance report should be submitted by the institutions to the BCI. These reports include the details regarding the ICC, number of complaints received, awareness and the training sessions and steps taken to resolve the cases.
- The BCI’s policy is considered broader interpretation of workplace dignity and inclusivity. This protection extends to all the interns, paralegals, employees, staff, and even the individuals interacting with the institution such as clients or advocates. The scope of harassment has been expanded and so did the measures to curb that down. The policy of the POSH Act includes the remote workshops as well to eliminate the aspect of harassment from the environment.
- To ensure the compliance of the POSH acts by the institutions to its fullest, BCI has taken some stringent measures to ensure the effectiveness of the act. If the institution fails to establish ICC or if they ignore the requirements of the act, they will face the disciplinary consequences. Penalties include fines, suspension of the institution recognition or may take disciplinary actions against the responsible officials.
- The creation of institutional support systems should be established for the victims of harassment. The institutions are encouraged to provide access to the psychological counselling, legal assistance and professional network support. This measure aims to reduce the fear associated in reporting of a harassment case and to ensure that the victims receive both legal and emotional support.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
The Supreme Court had previously noted the complaints of harassment within lower court premises. The provisions to have a better working environment to reduce the harassment cases at the workplace led to the regulator bodies to strengthen the institutional safeguards to ensure a uniform enforcement across the legal profession to have a safe working environment where there is equality, dignity, respect, fairness and unity in the working environment. Many bar associations have already initiated the training programs such as the workshops, committees and have launched the digital platforms for the confidential reporting of the harassment cases happening in the working environment. The awareness programs have already reached tens and thousands of lawyers, interns, staff and advocates. This move of the BCI is being welcomed by the legal institutions and the associations as it emphasizes the need for a safe working environment.
CONCLUSION:
The BCI has brought a policy work to change the current working conditions and to make work on the safety measures for a better working environment. The compulsory imposition of the policy given by BCI transforms the legal workplace from a potential battleground to a bastion of safety and equity. By enforcing accountability and cultural change, it does not only elevates the ethical standards of an institution but also inspires for a better settlement reforms to be followed everywhere for a better working conditions. Following the policy strictly will help in shaping the legal fraternity for generations ahead.
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WRITTEN BY: MEENAKSHI DANGI
