subject: ANTI-MEN INVESTIGATION IN PROPOSED SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW [print this page] ANTI-MEN INVESTIGATION IN PROPOSED SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW
The proposed THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT
AT WORK PLACE BILL, 2010 as introduced in Lok Sabha is a Anti-men legislation, where only a woman can be a complainant and only man can be respondent. The proposed inquiry proceedings in the bill are Anti-men on the face of it, and designed to deny justice to the accused man.
The proposed Internal Complaints Committee, as provided in Section 4 of the proposed Act, shall be headed by woman. Its members shall consist of at least 2 women employees "committed to the cause of women". It is a women representative from an NGO, committed to the cause of women. The term "committed to the cause of women" has not been explained in the proposed Act, but in common parlance, it means "a feminist woman". Thus the basic constitution of the internal complaints committee has been designed to be Anti-men. Similarly, Local Committee constituted under Section 7 of the proposed Act is chaired by "eminent woman in the field of social work committed to the cause of woman", and representatives of NGOs "committed to the cause of woman".
The basic constitution of the inquiry committee is anti-men and designed to deny justice to men. Civilized jurisprudence of any society requires unbiased judges, whereas the proposed Act provides of Anti-men jury. No men respondent can expect any justice from such biased jury, where jury knows that they hold office because "they are committed to the cause of women".
There is a provision for settlement under Section 10 of the proposed Act. This provision for settlement is being done by the inquiry committee itself. A man respondent shall be aware in the settlement proceeding that if he doesn't agree to the settlement proposal by the inquiry committee, the same inquiry committee shall inquire into the charges. Thus the proposed settlement mechanism is nothing but an extortion mechanism to rob men of his property and self esteem. Such feminist dominated inquiry committee has also been given power to transfer respondent during inquiry. Such power is likely to be used in such manner to deny justice to man.
Further, all proceedings under the proposed Act is treated as secret. No such information about the enquiry/conciliation proceedings etc. can be divulged not even under the Right to Information Act. It is seen that name of the complainant/respondent could have easily been kept secret, there is no need to keep the proceedings and other things related to inquiry secret. Such secrecy has been proposed to conceal the wrong doing and blatant injustice to men by the inquiry committee. Recent development has shown that Right to Information Act has been used successfully by Men's Rights Activists all over the country to expose various injustices done to men through other Gender-biased laws. In order to conceal wrong doings done in this laws, Section 16 of the proposed Act conceal all proceedings under the Act from the purview of the Right to Information Act.
Rule 26 provides that court shall take congnizance under this Act only on a complaint of a woman or committee. Thus men have been barred from making any complaint against anybody before a court of law for any wrong doing done to them under the proposed Act.
The proposed bill is a sinister bill. It aims at enslaving men by making them an easy target of extortion and dismissal from service through biased procedure and at the same time deny men any remedy against such wrong doings in the court of law. This is a bill to humiliate men, subjugate men and fecilitate ransom and extortion from men.
