Set up SHe-Box to help women file sex harassment plaints: SC to Goa, others

Panaji: Supreme Court has said all states and Union territories could think of setting up the SHe-Box (sexual harassment electronic box) to help women file complaints about sexual harassment at workplaces. The apex court has also directed the designated district officers across India to upload on the SHe-Box the details of govt actions to implement the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, reports Lisa Monteiro.

SHe-Box is the Centre’s initiative to make it easier for women to register complaints.

The SC said district officers should upload on the SHe-Box the information on the constitution of internal complaints committees by employers and local committees by districts.

“Every state could also think of instituting a SHe-Box for the purpose of registering complaints, either before the internal complaints committee of a workplace or through a local committee of a district as a means of access to make such a complaint,” the SC has said. “If any such SHe-Box is or has been constituted by the state government/Union territory, the same shall be activated, and the complaints received shall in turn be referred to the respective internal complaints committee or the local committee, as the case may be.”

“The above observations are for the purpose of facilitation to make a complaint by an aggrieved woman.”

In a Goa-related case (Aureliano Fernandes v/s state of Goa and others), the SC on Dec 3 directed chief secretaries of all states and Union territories to ensure that internal complaints committees under the 2013 act are constituted or reconstituted for all govt departments, agencies of state departments, and public sector units by Jan 31.

The apex court directed states and UTs to file affidavits on the compliance with these directions by the first week of Feb.

It further directed legal services institutions at central, state, district, and taluka levels to assist women in registering complaints under the act.

Chief secretaries of all states and Union territories have been told by the SC to notify the district officer ex officio for every district to ensure compliance with the provisions of the act.

“Further, the district officer of every district has to in turn constitute a committee to be known as local committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment as stipulated in Sub-section 1 of Section 6 of the act,” the SC has said.

It has directed district officers to designate nodal officers in each area to receive complaints and forward them to the local committee concerned within seven days of receipt.

“In order that the aggrieved women may be able to make the complaint to the local committee, the names of the nodal officer and their designation for each block, taluka, and tehsil in rural or tribal areas and ward or municipality in the urban areas, who would receive the complaints and forward the same to the local committee shall be notified on the website of the district officer…” the SC has further said.

The SC also directed deputy commissioners, district magistrates, additional district magistrates, collectors, or deputy collectors of each district to survey the number of organisations in public and private sectors which have already constituted internal complaints committees. The officers are to seek information about the committees.

District officers have been directed to take steps to ensure that such committees are set up by all employers by sending advisories about Section 26 of the act which envisages a penalty for not forming the committees.

“The internal complaints committees have to be constituted by the employer in respect of a workplace. This is a statutory duty,” the SC said.


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