Sexual harassment complaint must rest on concrete allegations and fair inquiry; ex parte findings without defence opportunity failed.

A sexual harassment complaint must rest on concrete allegations and a fair, substantive inquiry; a generic grievance about rude, biased, or favouritist conduct did not by itself justify constitution of a sexual harassment committee. The Local Complaints Committee's ex parte, cryptic findings were unsustainable because no proper material was recorded and no effective opportunity of defence was afforded, so those findings were not binding. Parallel resort to the Local Complaints Committee was not accepted where an internal mechanism already existed and the later sexual harassment allegations materially differed from the original complaint. The person proceeded against was not treated as the employer on these facts, and the tribunal's contrary view was set aside.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the Internal Complaints Committee and the Local Complaints Committee could conduct parallel preliminary enquiries into the same complaint; (ii) Whether the ex parte findings of the Local Complaints Committee were sustainable and required compliance; (iii) Whether the original complaint disclosed allegations sufficient to justify constitution of a committee for sexual harassment enquiry; (iv) Whether the person proceeded against was the employer within the meaning of the statute.

Issue (i): Whether the Internal Complaints Committee and the Local Complaints Committee could conduct parallel preliminary enquiries into the same complaint.

Analysis: The statutory scheme contemplates a proper inquiry and not a mere preliminary exercise. The complaints were found to be materially different in content, and the later conversion of a general grievance into a sexual harassment complaint created serious doubt about the basis of invoking the local mechanism. The employer had already constituted an internal mechanism, and the court found no legal necessity for treating the local proceedings as the only permissible route on the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The parallel and overlapping resort to the Local Complaints Committee was not accepted as valid in the circumstances.

Issue (ii): Whether the ex parte findings of the Local Complaints Committee were sustainable and required compliance.

Analysis: The Local Complaints Committee passed a cryptic order, recorded no proper materials, and did not afford the person proceeded against an effective opportunity of defence. The absence of meaningful service and the ex parte character of the proceedings were treated as fatal, particularly where the statutory process must satisfy fairness and cannot rest on a non-speaking conclusion.

Conclusion: The ex parte findings of the Local Complaints Committee were held unsustainable and not binding.

Issue (iii): Whether the original complaint disclosed allegations sufficient to justify constitution of a committee for sexual harassment enquiry.

Analysis: The original complaint was described as generic and focused on rude or authoritative conduct, bias, and favouritism, without concrete allegations amounting to sexual harassment. The later complaint introduced specific sexual allegations, but the court found that this was a marked departure from the earlier version and did not convincingly establish that the initial complaint itself warranted constitution of a sexual harassment committee.

Conclusion: The original complaint did not, by itself, justify the formation of a sexual harassment enquiry committee.

Issue (iv): Whether the person proceeded against was the employer within the meaning of the statute.

Analysis: Although the statute defines employer to include the head of a department or office in a government establishment, the court held that the surrounding facts did not support the conclusion that the person proceeded against was the employer for the purpose of displacing the internal committee mechanism. The tribunal's contrary view was found to be erroneous on the facts.

Conclusion: The person proceeded against was not treated as the employer so as to invalidate the internal committee process.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions succeeded, the tribunal's orders and the local committee order were set aside, and the internal committee mechanism was restored as the valid course on the facts of the case.

Ratio Decidendi: A sexual harassment complaint must be assessed on its actual allegations and supported by a fair, substantive inquiry; a cryptic ex parte finding without proper opportunity of defence cannot prevail, and a generic grievance cannot be converted into a valid harassment proceeding without concrete material.

---