The Supreme Court has once again been hit by allegations of sexual harassment.
Close on the heels of two former SC judges being accused of molesting law interns, two women lawyers have filed complaints against male advocates accusing them of sexually harassing them inside the Supreme Court premises.
The women lawyers filed the complaint before the 10-member Supreme Court Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) constituted on November 26, 2013 as per the Vishaka guidelines to deal with complaints of sexual harassment on its premises.
According to the annual report of GSICC posted on the Supreme Court website, while one lawyer filed the complaint on December 12, 2013, deposed against the lawyer and got her statement video recorded, the other complainant appeared before the panel on December 16 and recording of her statement has been deferred on her request.
The report has not disclosed the names of the accused lawyers.
"Unless and until the committee concludes the probe, it has been decided internally that the names of the advocates shall not be revealed," a committee member told Mail Today.
The committee has two senior judges of the apex court-Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Madan B Lokur as members.
If found guilty, the accused lawyers can be banned from entering the Supreme Court premises for a year.
GSICC can also file a criminal complaint before the disciplinary authority, including the Bar Council of India.
The panel has the jurisdiction to inquire into incidents which take place within the SC premises, including entire court block, open grounds, parking, old and new chamber blocks, libraries, canteens, bar rooms and health centre.
"Two complaints received by the GSICC from aggrieved women lawyers have been submitted to the internal sub-committee. Both the complaints are pending disposal with the internal sub-committee," the statement on the website said.
The formation of the panel, which was pending since 1997 Vishaka verdict of the SC, was finally constituted after the sexual harassment complaint involving former SC judge AK Ganguly came to light.
Lady lawyers had petitioned the court two years ago for such a panel ever since complaints of sexual harassment of lawyers as well as stalking inside the court premises increased.
Efforts for it gained momentum after an incident on March 19, 2013, when a cleaning staff climbed a shaft and secretly filmed a woman advocate while she was in the toilet in the old lawyers' chamber building inside the Delhi High Court.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2549856/Now-woman-lawyers-claim-sexually-harassed-Supreme-Court-premises-male-advocates.html#ixzz2s5dEPhkp
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