1. INTRODUCTION

On June 30, 2023, a division bench of the High Court of Delhi (“Court”) passed a judgment in Dr. Sohail Malik vs. Union of India and Anr.,¹ and held that the scope of the Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”) is not limited only to cases where a woman employee is sexually harassed by another employee working in the same workplace and that the POSH Act can be extended even when the delinquent employee is employed elsewhere.

2. BACKGROUND

A complaint (“Complaint”) of sexual harassment had been presented by an officer of the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer and Public Distribution (“MCPD”) against an officer (“Petitioner”) of the Indian Revenue Service before the Internal Complaints Committee (“ICC”) of her workplace/department being the MCPD. On receiving a notice from the ICC, the Petitioner moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (“CAT”) challenging the jurisdiction of the ICC of the MCPD to examine the complaint. The CAT, through an order dated June 23, 2023 upheld the jurisdiction of the ICC. Against the order passed by CAT, the Petitioner filed a writ petition before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi.

3. DECISION AND ANALYSIS OF THE COURT

3.1 Notable arguments of the Petitioner

It was argued by the Petitioner that inquiries before an ICC of the complainant’s workplace could not be sustained if a delinquent employee worked in a different workplace, as the said delinquent...

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