Kerala High Court Directs State To Formulate Guidelines To Anonymise Complainant Details In POSH Enquiry Proceedings

The Kerala High Court has directed the state government to formulate guidelines to anonymize the personal details of complainants during enquiry proceedings under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).

The Division Bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice P. Krishna Kumar emphasized that the current absence of such a mechanism violates the complainants’ right to privacy.

The Court observed that while the privacy rights of complainants must be protected, any measures taken should not prejudice the rights of the employee against whom the allegations have been made. “When the right to privacy is recognized as one of the important facets of the fundamental rights of a person, a complainant who raises such a grievance is also entitled to ensure that her whereabouts are anonymised from the public domain,” the Court stated.

The Division Bench directed the first respondent to frame the necessary guidelines within four months, referring to the Bombay High Court’s decision in P v. A & Others (2021) as a useful reference. "At present there is no mechanism to anonymise the complainant, who alleges that she faced sexual harassment or other atrocities as envisaged by the POSH Act, in the various proceedings related to the enquiry.....this should be done in such a manner not prejudicial to the rights of the employee against whom the complaint is made, while he defends the enquiry. For this purpose, we direct the first respondent to formulate necessary guidelines within a period of four months," the Court ordered.

The Court made the observations in an original petition filed by a Deputy Director in the District Tourism Office who challenged the enquiry proceedings initiated against him under the POSH Act. The complaint, filed by a female coworker alleging various forms of harassment, had led to disciplinary proceedings that the petitioner contended were conducted without affording him the opportunity to cross-examine the complainant or participate fully in the inquiry.

While the petitioner argued that the enquiry should follow the procedures outlined in the applicable service rules, the Court noted that such interim procedural challenges should be reserved until the final decision, in order to preserve the finality of disciplinary proceedings.

“As a general rule, a delinquent facing a disciplinary enquiry should not be permitted to challenge the intermediary proceedings until the enquiry and the consequential decision are concluded,” the Court remarked.

The Bench added, "If at all there is any violation of the principles of natural justice or the relevant statutory provisions while conducting the enquiry, the employee can raise those matters while challenging the final outcome. If the enquiry proceedings or disciplinary actions are subjected to challenges at every interim stage, there will not be any finality to the process and that will affect the very system of public administration. Thus, we find no jurisdictional error in the impugned order."

Accordingly, the Division Bench directed that the enquiry committee must conduct the proceedings in accordance with the relevant service rules. The Court further clarified that if the enquiry is conducted lawfully, the proceedings should be allowed to proceed to further stages without being vitiated by interim challenges.

Cause Title: Thomas Antony v. State of Kerala [Neutral Citation No. 2025:KER:22497]

Appearance:-

Petiitoner: Senior Advocate Elvin Peter PJ, Advocates K.R.Ganesh, Jeleetta Gregory Anamika M.J. Adarsh Babu C.S

Respondent: Government Pleader Sunilkumar Kuriakose

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