The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly: Part 3 – Documentation during inquiry and sharing sensitive information in social media

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The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly: Part 3 –
Documentation during inquiry and sharing sensitive

information in social media

January 3, 2022

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Sumali Nagarajan PoSH (44)
 Author Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (17)
Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (4)
Others (1)

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on Gender Sensitization

February 8, 2022

In this webinar organized by Rainmaker Training and hosted by Antony Alex, Founder and CEO, the two PoSH Internal Committee
experts are Ms Veena Gowda and Mr Trideep Pais. Ms Veena is one of the leading women’s rights Annual Report Filing is
lawyers who has been practising in various prestigious courts for two decades. Mr Trideep is a Senior Cumbersome & Deadlines are
Advocate in Delhi High Court and has been litigating for over twenty years in criminal and civil law, Obscure
including cases of sexual offences. He has represented both Complainants and Respondents in
matters related to the Anti- Sexual Harassment Act at workplace. February 2, 2022

If PoSH Committee Members do not give all documents to the Respondent or Complainant, is this The Wheels of Justice Turn
violating their rights? Slowly: Part 3 -
Documentation during inquiry
and sharing sensitive
information in social media

January 3, 2022

The PoSH Internal Committee must ensure that they share the documents (submitted by

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Similarly, Minutes of the Meeting (MOM) also must be recorded by the PoSH Committee Members and
shared with both parties. If the parties don’t receive it, they can ask for it. Ms Veena emphasized the
principle behind these practices: “no one should be caught by surprise”. The parties should get a

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the papers.

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Ms Veena cautioned that if the document has something confidential, this information should be
retracted (sheathed) by the PoSH Committee Members before sharing it with parties. It could be
names of people not relevant to the inquiry, names of people whom Complainant has called with her
phone, or confidential organizational information. 

What if the other party shares the statement (recorded during examination) or documents
(screenshots or personal messages) with the media?

This leaking to the media is a constant worry of parties, the PoSH Committee Members, and even the
organization. In today’s times, sharing with the press or media is extremely easy and may be done
impulsively. Ms Veena warned that this is a breach of Confidentiality (Section 16) and is punishable
under the PoSH Law. “Not only the PoSH Law but Criminal Law will also be called in” on breach of
Confidentiality and publication of material in social media. Therefore, both parties need to be strongly
cautioned against revealing any information related to the inquiry proceedings.

Rainmaker Training Tip: The entire conversation where the PoSH Committee Members explain the
inquiry process and Confidentiality to each party should get captured in the audio recording of the
meeting. The Committee Members should also document all of the above in the MOM. Both parties
should sign the MOM and receive a copy after every meeting. This recording and signing of the MOM
are a good practice, and parties can ask for it if PoSH Committee Members fail to follow it.

Author’s Note: After experiencing Sexual Harassment, when a woman is contemplating making a
complaint or has filed a complaint, there could be much pressure on her. This pressure could
be emotional pressure from people around her about the enormity of the situation and the potential
repercussions leading to stress/anxiety. This could be professional pressure from peers/seniors not to
make the complaint, withdraw it, or settle it. There could be economic pressure of needing the job and
fear of losing it. With all of this, she may not be able to process helpful information about this law, her
rights and the stages of the redressal mechanism at that time. 

PREVIOUS ARTICLE The same is true with the Respondent. However, his fears and apprehensions may not get the same NEXT ARTICLE
consideration as hers. This imbalance can result due to the tendency of PoSH Committee Members to
see him as the culprit even before the inquiry has commenced. Given our society which expects a
man to “be a man” and not need help or support, he may further be alienated and left to fend for
himself. 

For the reasons stated above, people must be well aware of their rights and stipulations under the
PoSH Law. Knowing these could be to their advantage, and not knowing them is a huge detriment.

Suppose you ever find yourself filing an FIR in the police station. In that case, your lack of awareness of
the name of the Law and the Sections under which you need to file an FIR should not be a deterrent in
filing it. But we all know that ideal situations are not what we come across in the real world. Knowing
the sections of CrPC, IPC, IT Act, or POCSO under which you are filing a complaint would only empower
you. Similarly, knowledge of the PoSH Law can empower you as an involved party.

Let us all be well-informed law-abiding employees/citizens.

————————–

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compliant workplaces. Our mission is to develop engaging and Products & Offerings Phone :- +91 9029000180

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Slowly: Part 1 – Conciliation – Rainmaker.

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Author: Sumali Nagarajan




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