New Delhi: The Director General of the National Cadet Corps (DGNCC), which is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), was found guilty of contempt of court by the Delhi High Court on December 16 for failing to comply with a previous court order regarding a female officer's sexual harassment complaint.
A Whole Time Lady Officer (WTLO) of the NCC who was permanently commissioned was pleading in court. She had complained against a male officer under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as the POSH Act.
Justice Manoj Jain noted that the DGNCC "committed wilful and deliberate disobedience" of its decision in February after the woman petitioned the HC, alleging that the DGNCC had disregarded the court's previous judgement on the same issue, Indian Express reported.
“…the DGNCC’s decision in the petitioner’s case raises concerns about bias. This is because the DGNCC supervised the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and justified their own decisions in the appeal letter dated 10.04.2024. Furthermore, the petitioner has been denied a fair hearing, and their representation has not been considered by the DA [disciplinary authority]. This omission is a concern, as the DA’s role is critical in ensuring a fair and impartial process under the POSH Act. Therefore the impugned decision conveyed vide letter dated 10.04.2024 is non est in law,” the court said.
"To purge themselves of contempt," the court told DGNCC to refer the petitioner's representation to DA, i.e., the Ministry of Defence, and decide on it after giving her an opportunity to be heard within three weeks of the order's date. The court further stated that if the DGNCC does not comply with the current ruling, it "shall appear before this Court for a hearing on the quantum of sentence or punishment to be awarded in accordance with the law." It also sought a compliance report by February 1, 2025. On February 12 of this year, the woman officer approached the Delhi High Court, asking to have the Internal Complaints Committee's (ICC) findings and recommendations set aside.
While she dropped the petition the next day because she had an additional remedy available under the POSH Act, she filed a second petition on February 14 after the DGNCC failed to respond substantively to her representation. On February 19, the Delhi High Court asked DGNCC to consider the woman's representation as an appeal under Section 18 of the POSH Act and to transmit it to the appellate authority established under the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules. In her contempt petition, the woman claimed that DGNCC failed to comply with the court's February ruling, “and instead, issued an utterly irrelevant and evasive response, which is claimed to be exemplified by their communication dated 10.04.2024, which purportedly addressed matters unrelated to the specific directives of this Court.”
She also stated that DGNCC chose to function as both the DA and the appellate authority (AA) in her case, despite the fact that the rules state that the Ministry of Defence is the DA and the President of India serves as the AA when dealing with POSH complaints. It was also reported that she was denied a hearing.