Madras High Court Delivers Landmark Verdict in Decades-Long Sexual Harassment Case
In a significant ruling, the Madras High Court has declared that a woman employee of the Railway Employees’ Cooperative Society in Chennai endured sexual harassment at her workplace. The court found that the management failed to take appropriate action at every stage of the ordeal, which spanned over two decades.
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy emphasized that the disciplinary proceedings initiated against the employee were a form of victimization. He stated, "The disciplinary proceedings initiated against the employee are victimisation and fallout of the employee who had chosen to question the sexual harassment before all the authorities and pursue the same aggressively."
Court Orders Lapse of Charges and Full Retirement Benefits
The court ruled that the charge memos issued against the woman employee in 2003 and 2004 are now deemed to have lapsed. Consequently, her period of suspension from service, which began on March 12, 2004, must be treated appropriately.
Justice Chakravarthy directed that the employee be deemed retired from service effective from her date of superannuation on May 31, 2023. All her retirement benefits are to be paid with an additional 6% interest per annum from May 31, 2023, until the date of payment. The amount must be disbursed within eight weeks.
Background of the Harassment and Legal Battle
The woman joined the Railway Employees’ Cooperative Society in 1994. In 1998, she began experiencing sexual harassment from J Nagakesari, an assistant secretary of the society. Initially, she feared making a formal complaint due to his authority and instead made an oral complaint to the chairman of the society.
Although actions were temporarily initiated against Nagakesari, they were soon revoked, and he was reinstated with all administrative powers. Frustrated by continuous humiliation and harassment, the woman escalated her complaints to multiple authorities, including:
- The National Commission for Women (NCW)
- The State Commission for Women
- The Human Rights Commission
- The police
- The chief minister’s cell
The NCW, which at the time included Nirmala Sitharaman—now the Union Finance Minister—as a member, concluded that the woman was subjected to sexual harassment by Nagakesari. The commission recommended his suspension from service and disciplinary proceedings.
Despite this, the society issued multiple charge memos against the woman, leading to her suspension in 2004. The court passed this common order on a batch of pleas filed by both the employee and the management of the society, bringing a long legal battle to a close.
This ruling underscores the judiciary's role in addressing workplace harassment and ensuring justice for victims, setting a precedent for similar cases in India.
