PLEA BEFORE SC CHALLENGING BOMBAY HC's GUIDELINE TO PROTECT IDENTITIES OF PARTIES UNDER POSH ORDER

The Top Court was hearing a petition filed by advocate Abha Singh challenging an order passed by Justice GS Patel of the Bombay High Court. The HC laid down guidelines to protect the identities of parties to a case under the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) and Rules.

On September 24, 2021, Bombay HC restricted parties and lawyers from revealing the contents of any judgment or filing to the media or publishing any information by any means, including social media, without specific leave of the court. The Court noted that no guidelines were governing the field. Therefore, proceeded to set out a working protocol to protect the identity of parties even from accidental disclosure in proceedings under the Act.

The plea has argued that the order of the HC violates Article 19(1)(a) that guarantees freedom of speech and expression. The petition further drew attention to the significance of public discourse in legal entitlements delivered to women. The petition further warned that such an order might cause a “ripple effect” of discouraging survivors from approaching Courts.

The petitioner also informed the Court that after issuing the guidelines, several organizations and activists wrote a letter to Bombay HC Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Gautam Patel seeking pullback of the guidelines.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal