CASE COMMENTARY ON VISHAKA V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN, (1997) AND ITS LEGISLATIVE LEGACY

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress) Act (POSH) 2013 marks an important turning point that has had a major impact on India’s labour law and legal rights of women. Prior to this legislation, women's experience of being harassed at work was extremely high. Instances of workplace harassment were frequently dismissed as simply being personal issues or part of the general hazards associated with being at a workplace, rather than being regarded as a violation of bodily autonomy and dignity of a person. Although POSH Act, 2013 is a modern day legislation regulating workplace rights in India, it is important to remember that all the laws surrounding it have been developed on the back of a landmark judicial precedent, namely, the Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan judgment in 1997. In order to understand the current legal machinery of workplace rights in India, it is therefore important to analyse the legal structure behind the Vishaka case. This commentary provides an analysis of Vishaka as the main force behind change, analysing not only the impact of the historical precedents established by this case but also the future institutional problems faced as a result.