Nina Gupta and Somvir Deswal elected to the Supreme Court Complaints Committee

Nina Gupta and Somvir Deswal elected to the Supreme Court Complaints Committee

The gender sensitization group deals with sexual harassment cases taking place in the environs of the top court

Advocates Nina Gupta and Somvir Singh Deswal have been elected to the Supreme Court Gender Sensitization and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC).

While Gupta, a member of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was elected with the highest number of votes (292), Deswal received 286 votes. They have been elected for a term of two years.

In 2013, the Chief Justice of India had constituted the GSICC relating to sexual harassment at the Supreme Court precincts.

In a landmark judgment in the Vishakha and others versus the State of Rajasthan 1997 case, the Supreme Court had also set 'Vishakha guidelines.' The guidelines formed the basis for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. It is also known as the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, 2013.

The Act defines sexual harassment at the workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints. Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.