Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: HT
Context: The Supreme Court has instructed the Indian government and all states and union territories to promptly appoint district officers under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (POSH) Act.
Need for Direction: The court noted a lack of uniformity in implementing the Act and non-implementation of the Act in several instances
Directions of SC:
| Direction | Description |
| Ensure the appointment of District Officer | Principal Secretaries of the Ministry of Women and Child Development of every state/UT to ensure the appointment of a District Officer in every district within four weeks under Section 5 of the PoSH Act. |
| Local Complaints Committees | Each appointed District Officer would constitute Local Complaints Committees to receive complaints from women employed in small establishments with less than 10 workers or cases in which the assailant is the employer himself (Section 6 of the Act). |
| Tenure | The Chairperson and every Member of the Local Committee shall hold office for a period, not exceeding three years, from the date of their appointment as specified by the District Officer. |
| Nodal Person | Identify a ‘nodal person’ within the Department to oversee the implementation of the PoSH Act and coordinate with the Centre. |
| Compliance Report | Each State/UT Government is to submit a consolidated report of its compliance with the directions to the Centre within eight weeks. |
| Compliance by Centre | Centre to consolidate reports, and identify/remedy lapses in compliance by State, before filing a consolidated affidavit of compliance within 12 weeks. |
| Transparency | The court also suggested making anonymized data from annual compliance reports public to enhance transparency |
