NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking to bring registered political parties under the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013. “Subjecting political parties to the POSH Act would open a Pandora’s box and become a tool for blackmail,” it said. Appearing for petitioner Yogamaya G, senior advocate Shobha Gupta told a CJI Gavai-led bench that though many women are active members of political parties, only CPM has set up an internal complaint committee (ICC) with external members. This leaves women in political parties remediless against sexual harassment.
Demanding that the law must apply in equal rigour to registered parties which owe allegiance to the Constitution that mandates protection of dignity of women, including safe work atmosphere, the petitioner alleged that AAP lacks transparency about its committee while BJP and Congress have admitted to inadequate ICC structure.But, the bench asked, “How do you equate political parties as workplace? When a person joins a political party, it is not employment. It is not a job as they join political parties on their own volition and on non-remuneration basis. How can the law against sexual harassment at workplace include political parties?”The bench dismissed the appeal against a 2022 Kerala HC judgment that political parties are under no compulsion to establish ICCs in the absence of employee-employer relationship.
