VISHAKA V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN (1997): WHEN THE SUPREME COURT BECAME INDIA'S FIRST HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

There are some judgments that change the law. Then there are judgments that step in because the law is missing altogether. Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan belongs to the second category. For most law students, Vishaka is introduced as the case that gave India its first framework against workplace sexual harassment. That description is accurate, but it does not fully explain why the judgment still matters nearly three decades later. What makes Vishaka remarkable is that the Supreme Court found itself dealing with a problem that should never have reached it in the first place. Women were entering workplaces in increasing numbers, yet there was no legal mechanism specifically addressing sexual harassment at work. Parliament had not acted. Employers followed no common standard. Victims were often left to navigate systems that were either indifferent or openly dismissive. The Court responded by doing something unusual. It did not merely identify a constitutional violation. It created rules. In effect, it performed a task that one would normally associate with lawmakers, regulators, or human resource departments. Twenty-seven years later, the judgment continues to be celebrated, and rightly so. Yet an uncomfortable question remains. If workplaces today have policies, committees, awareness programmes, and statutory obligations, why do so many employees still hesitate before reporting harassment? The answer may lie in the distinction between compliance and trust. Vishaka helped India build the first. The second remains a work in progress.