Vishaka & Others vs State of Rajasthan : Case Summary

Vishaka & Others vs State of Rajasthan

Bench of Judges

CJI, SUJATA V. MANIHAR, B.N.KIRPAL

Case brief

This case is related to the evil of sexual harassment of women at working place. This case is the landmark case in the history of the sexual harassment that is decided by the Supreme Court. Sexual harassment means an uninvited sexual favor or sexual gesture from one gender to the other. It makes that person with whom it is done as insulted, humiliated and offended. Sexual harassment in India is also called as eve teasing and it is found in different forms like passing of indicative, uninvited touching, making appeals for sex, discredit person because of sex. Accordingly sexual harassment violates the article14 of Indian constitution which deals with the gender equality and also the article 21 which deals with right to life and to live with dignity. Justice Arjit Pasayat beholder from his beautiful thought that “while a murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim, on other hand the rapist defiles the soul of a helpless female”.

Facts

Let’s go back in the year 1985 when a women named Bhanwari Devi, who was employed as a village level social worker that was run by the government of Rajasthan was badly raped in the year 1992. As it was the part of the Devi’s job, she used to directly work with the families to prevent the marriages and also report cases to the police to when urgency took place. With all this, in a particular case it happened that Devi reported a family which had belonged to the Gurjar community to the police because of the arranged marriage one year old infant. Therefore, to get revenge for the same act done by Devi, the family had rebelled against her but also ostracize her from the community, around five men if the Gurjar community while she was at her workplace. Despite prefential and the derogatory behavior shown by the police and also the doctors, she was insistent on to fight for justice so she lodged a complaint against the accused. However, in the absence of sufficient evidence the court had acquitted the accused in trial court. Various social organization and the women activists also raised their voice for the Devi’s fight for justice.  

Judgement

In this case the judgment was conveyed by the chief justice J.S Verma as the representative if the judges. In this court held that there is the violation of having safe environment to work and right to life and right to live with dignity as given this right by the constitution of India under article 14(3),19(3)(1)(g) and article 21. The Supreme Court also held that women have fundamental right towards the freedom of sexual harassment at work place. The court also laid down some guidelines for the employees to follow them and avoid sexual harassment of women at work place. The court also suggested having proper techniques for the implementation of cases where there is sexual harassment at workplace. The main objective of the Supreme Court was to ensure gender equality among people and also ensure that there should be no discrimination towards women at their workplace.

Vishaka & others vs State of Rajasthan & others