According to The Times of India, the madras high court decided on wednesday that unwanted behavior at work also qualified as sexual harassment because the conduct was illegal regardless of the harasser's motivations. The PoSH Act places more focus on the "act" of sexual harassment than the "intention" behind it, Justice RN manjula emphasized.
"Unwanted behavior at the workplace is sexual harassment irrespective of the harasser's intent," she stated, quoting a US court ruling. Without a doubt, anything would be considered sexual harassment if it is not well accepted, improper, and perceived as unwanted behavior that affects the opposite sex, namely women.
The judge said that the women's feelings, not the other way around, had to be taken into consideration while determining the reasonableness threshold.
"While speaking about decency, it is not the decency that the offender thinks within himself but how he makes the other gender feel about his actions," she stated.
The judge said this while overturning a ruling by the main labor court that had rejected the suggestions of HCL Technologies' Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in a case involving a service delivery manager who had been the target of three female employees' sexual harassment complaints.
According to the ladies, the guy had exploited his position as their supervisor by often stroking their shoulders, requiring handshakes, and approaching them from behind while they were at work. Although the court disagreed, the guy contested the charges, claiming that he was only watching them at work and had no intention of sexually harassing them.
"Unwanted behavior at the workplace is sexual harassment irrespective of the harasser's intent," she stated, quoting a US court ruling. Without a doubt, anything would be considered sexual harassment if it is not well accepted, improper, and perceived as unwanted behavior that affects the opposite sex, namely women.
The judge said that the women's feelings, not the other way around, had to be taken into consideration while determining the reasonableness threshold.
"While speaking about decency, it is not the decency that the offender thinks within himself but how he makes the other gender feel about his actions," she stated.
The judge said this while overturning a ruling by the main labor court that had rejected the suggestions of HCL Technologies' Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in a case involving a service delivery manager who had been the target of three female employees' sexual harassment complaints.
According to the ladies, the guy had exploited his position as their supervisor by often stroking their shoulders, requiring handshakes, and approaching them from behind while they were at work. Although the court disagreed, the guy contested the charges, claiming that he was only watching them at work and had no intention of sexually harassing them.
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