Court No. - 33
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 23269 of 2018 Petitioner :- Major General M.L. Sharma (Retd.) Respondent :- District Magistrate And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Shakti Swarup Nigam Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Manoj Misra,J. Hon'ble Ved Prakash Vaish,J.
Heard Sri S.S. Nigam, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for respondents 1 and 2.
The petitioner has assailed notice dated 21st April, 2018, issued from the office of District Probationary Officer, Ghaziabad, calling upon the petitioner to attend the proceedings of Local Complaints Committee, constituted at the district level, to deal with complaints made under the provisions of The Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (In short Act, 2013). The impugned notice has apparently been issued on the complaint made by third respondent against the petitioner.
The petitioner has submitted that in view of Section 9 of Act, 2013, the Local Complaints Committee, constituted under the provisions of Act, 2013, would have jurisdiction to entertain complaint only if Internal Complaints Committee has not been constituted in the organization by the employer. It has been submitted, by inviting attention of the court to document appended at page 88 (Annexure- 4) of the paper book, that Internal Complaints Committee in the organization of Brooke India was constituted for level III officer on 22nd December, 2015. It has been urged that the complaint on which cognizance has been taken by the Local Complaints Committee was submitted on 18th April, 2018, therefore the said complaint was not maintainable before the Local Complaints Committee.
Learned Standing Counsel, who represents respondents 1 and 2, submitted that, as only notice has been issued to the petitioner by the Local Complaints Committee, it would be appropriate that this ground may be taken by the petitioner before the Local Complaints Committee which can address the issue and thereafter proceed after recording its satisfaction as regards tenability of the objection.
At this stage, Sri S.S. Nigam, learned counsel for the petitioner, has informed the court that already such a reply by way of preliminary objection has been taken by the petitioner before the Local Complaints Committee and therefore direction may be issued to the Local Complaints Committee to address the said objection before proceeding further in the matter.
Having considered the rival submissions, without expressing any opinion on the merits of claim of the petitioner, we consider it appropriate to dispose of this petition with a direction upon the Local Complaints Committee, which is allegedly constituted by District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, to first decide preliminary objection raised by the petitioner as regards jurisdiction of the Local Complaints Committee to proceed further in the complaint of the third respondent in view of alleged constitution of Internal Complaints Committee. In case, the Local Complaints Committee finds that such objection of the petitioner is liable to be rejected then reasons shall be recorded. Only after first dealing with the said objection, further action on the complaint shall be taken by the Local Complaints Committee. Needless to add that any such decision shall be taken only after giving opportunity to the parties concerned including the third respondent.
With the aforesaid observation/direction, the petition stands disposed off.
Order Date :- 30.7.2018. Rks.
(V.P. Vaish, J.) (Manoj Misra, J.)