Mumbai: According to Bombay High Court guidelines issued on Tuesday, matters covered under the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and Rules are eligible for dismissal or settlement. The order sheets will no longer list the names of the parties, according to the new rules.
A recent order was made by Justice G. S. Patel to safeguard the rights of both the victim and the accused in sexual harassment cases.
Listed below are some new guidelines issued by the High Court:
– The order sheets will not contain the names of the parties. Orders will read ‘A vs B’, ‘P vs D’, etc.
– The parties will not be referred to by their names in the order but as Plaintiff, Defendant No. 1, etc. The body of any order will not include any personally identifiable information (PII) such as email ids, phone numbers, addresses, etc. The names and addresses of witnesses will not be disclosed. No judgments or orders on merits will be uploaded.
– Orders and judgments are delivered in private, that is, not in open court but only in chambers or in camera.
– PII shall not be retained by the Registry when an affidavit, application or pleading is filed. The Registry may require production of an identity document to verify the identity of the deponent, but no copy of such a document is to be retained.
– The Registry will not permit anyone other than the Advocate-on-Record with a current and valid vakalatnama to inspect or copy any filing or order. The entire record should be kept confidential and should not be disclosed to any third party without a court order.
– Hearings will only take place in chambers or in-camera. There will be no online or hybrid facilities.
Hearings must be conducted in person. Only advocates and litigants may attend hearings. Support staff (clerks, peons, etc.) at the Court must leave. Except for the Court Master/Associate or Sheristedar and the stenographer or person providing secretarial assistance, other court staff must also leave the court and not attend the hearing.
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– The Court must issue a specific order if an order is to be released to the public. It will only be possible to publish the fully anonymised version of the order of judgement.
– Both sides and all parties, as well as witnesses, are forbidden from disclosing the contents of any order, judgment, or filing to the media or publishing any such material in any medium, including social media, without the court’s permission.
– In addition to the usual oath, witnesses must sign a non-disclosure and confidentiality statement.
– The recording of any part of the proceedings is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to record or transcribe any part of the proceedings will be deemed contempt.
The order sets out a working protocol for future orders, hearings, and case file management, and is the first step in that direction. As initial guidelines, these will need to be revised or modified as necessary. Violation of any part of this order will be considered contempt of court.
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