Indian Army violating guidelines on harassment
Avnish Jolly
http://igovernment.in/site/Indian-Army-violating-guidelines-on-harassment
Army Act 1950 lacks specific provisions to deal with sexual abuse
cases at workplace
Published on 09/04/2009 - 13:34:21 PM
By Ritu Sharma
New Delhi: The Indian Army goes by the Army Act while probing
allegations of sexual abuse. But in the process it may be blatantly
overlooking guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on sexual
harassment at workplace, say activists.
"We do not go by the Supreme Court's guidelines. The army officers
first come under the Army Act and we take serious note of sexual
allegations," a senior Indian Army official told while requesting
anonymity.
"The army has a standing policy that every case of serious nature
invariably goes to the military court. The Supreme Court guidelines
are not applicable as we have the Army Act," former Indian Army
Advocate General Maj Gen Neelendra Kumar said.
The apex court had issued guidelines for conducting inquiries into
cases of sexual harassment at workplace in an August 1997 judgment and
these are meant to be applicable in the absence of any specific
legislation.
The Army Act 1950, which was formulated for men when women had not
been inducted into the forces, does not have specific provisions
dealing with cases of sexual abuse. The allegations are generally
clubbed with "unbecoming conduct" on the part of officers.
However, K P S Satheesh, Chairman of NGO The Guardian Foundation
argues that the army's argument that its personnel are under the Army
Act cannot be accepted since the act was meant only for men.
"In the absence of any specific rules, procedures or norms in the Army
Act for solving sexual harassment at workplace, the apex court
guidelines are very well applicable to the army as well," Satheesh
said.
According to Defence Minister A K Antony, during the last five years,
11 cases of sexual harassment have been reported in the armed forces,
where the strength of women officers remains minuscule.
Currently, 5,137 women officers serve in the armed forces. They
include 4,101 in the army, 784 in the air force and 252 in the navy.
A recent example is the case of Captain Poonam Kaur of the Army Supply
Corps (ASC). In July 2008, she alleged that three officers of her unit
had mentally and sexually harassed her and confined her illegally when
she resisted their advances.
The army then constituted a court of inquiry whereby all three
officers denied the allegations and she was found guilty on at least
20 counts, including levelling false charges against her senior
officers.
The apex court has succinctly laid down that any inquiry team
investigating a sexual harassment case should be headed by a woman,
more than half the members should be women and there should be third
party participation in the inquiry like that of a non-profit
organisation.
However, the inquiry into Kaur's allegations was presided over by
Brigadier RP Attri of the army's Western Command headquarters. Among
the three members of the inquiry, only one was female and there was no
representative from an NGO in the panel.
The Guardian Foundation has moved an application on the army in the
National Commission for Women against "violation of guidelines and
norms prescribed by the Supreme Court while dealing with cases of
sexual harassment at workplace".