Handshake is sexual harassment: High Court given big verdict. Court says handshake is sexual harassment despite woman’s unwillingness
HandShake is sexual harassment: High Court given big verdict: If a woman is unwilling to shake hands with a colleague at work, then the Chennai High Court has given a big verdict on this. There is a POSH Act to protect women at work. Now the court has further strengthened this law. Shaking hands despite her unwillingness will be considered sexual harassment. The court has also clarified that in such a case, not the intention but the action of the person will be taken into consideration.
Three female employees working in HCL company had filed a complaint in the name of their superior officer. However, the labor court dismissed the internal investigation committee report. However the High Court refused to accept the conclusions drawn by the labor court. In addition, it also held that it is apt to bring a complaint under the POSH Act which has already been in vogue since 2013. The High Court also answered the question of how shaking hands would come under the category of sexual harassment. Justice RN Manjula said that if one does not accept an incident properly in the workplace or if someone’s behavior affects another and if the affected person is a woman, then it comes under the category of sexual harassment.
The court also cited a 1998 US Supreme Court case. The judge cited the offshore case of Joseph Onkele and Sundown. The High Court stated that in cases of sexual harassment, the woman’s viewpoint always supersedes that of the man.
There is no set standard of how persons of different genders should communicate or interact at the workplace. The only standard is politeness. A criminal does not feel guilty when politeness is taken into account, but every woman may have a different mindset about this.
Three women worked under the man. The women have alleged that he used to sit nearby and observe their work while they were working. They alleged that he would often touch their shoulders, force them to shake hands, and ask about their menstrual periods. However, the male employee denied the allegations of sexual harassment. When he demanded CCTV footage, it was not available. The internal investigation committee on this said that the incident took place in 2018. After the employee concerned was dismissed in 2019, it asked for CCTV footage. HCL said that the POSH Act was strictly enforced after this incident.
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