Facts of the Case:

The Applicant was transferred from the NSO Kottayam office to NSO Thanjavur Tamil Nadu. The applicant was dismissed from his job as SRO in-charge of Kottayam on April 5, 2022, due to several acts of misconduct which prompted issues for the personnel such as mishandling of a sexual harassment complaint. The applicant also challenged the creation of a new POSH committee in New Delhi to replace the envisaged regional committee that the applicant alleged was not legitimate, maintaining that a regional committee already existed. He also raised issues of procedure such as it being conducted online, bad recording, lack of documents as well as presenting records of the case too late.

Applicant’s Arguments:

The applicant stated he was arbitrarily transferred from the NSO Kottayam office to NSO Thanjavur Tamil Nadu. When a regional committee was already formed as such the new POSH committee in New Delhi cannot entertain his matter. He also raised objections to processes related to the POSH inquiry being conducted online and including incomplete and delayed filing of the complaint.

Respondent’s Arguments:

The Respondents responded that the transfer was good due to ongoing inquiries into the POSH Act and administrative procedures. They highlighted that the applicant had been working at Kottayam office and after working somewhere for a long time then this move is permitted by the rules of staff members. The responses also highlighted that New Delhi was working on renewing an earlier committee so that there would be no conflict of interest, and the investigation remained consistent and was sanctioned with full authority over the entire India. Further, they averred that the regional committee was dismissed as incompetent since it had not met the statutory requirements of the POSH Act.

Tribunals Observation:

Consequently, the Tribunal observed that the transfer was necessary because of continuous POSH Act enquiries and administrative demands. As a reason for such change, they pointed out that the applicant has worked at the Kottayam office for many years which supports the change and policies applicable to employees who have served for a long time. The replies also stressed that the New Delhi committee was a reformulation of another committee; that the committee was not politically motivated; that it was legally constituted with jurisdiction extending to the whole of India. They also argued that the regional committee was presumed to be incompetent to perform the mandate assigned to it by failing to follow the POSH legislation compulsions.

Tribunals Judgment:

The Tribunal then threw out the challenges in the transfer order stating that it was valid and that there was no truth in the applicant’s allegations of being retaliated against or the procedural misconduct that he complained of. The Tribunal ordered the applicant to appear before the POSH committee formed under New Delhi which can be done through online mode, if required. All the Original Applications (OAs) were refused, and the interim orders earlier made were set aside. The applicant was directed to provide support in the POSH inquiry performed by the New Delhi committee.

Conclusion:

According to the Tribunal, all the challenges that the applicant was to produce were found to be inconsequential. The generation of the new structure as well as addition of the POSH committee jurisdiction was given a nod while the transfer order was retained due to its necessity. The applicant received no monetary reward and was directed to participate in the POSH inquiry.

Credit- By Anaida Khan Pursuing 5th year of BALLB (Hons.) from Dharmashashtra National Law University, Jabalpur