Indian Law: Are Working Women Safe?

Women related laws and issues continue to shock us.  News reports are getting worse each day.  A couple who decide to run away and get married are electrocuted by the girl's parents. A girl who tries to relieve herself on the side of a lonely road is molested by a drunken policeman who promises to pay her well if she complies. A mother and son are put in jail and forced by the police to have sex with each other inside the prison cell.  A young girl is killed in her own home and the evidence around her death disappears, due to which investigating agencies remain clueless about who the actual murderer is. These real life stories get worse and worse, particularly for Indian women and their safety while traveling on their own. It is an accepted fact that no female is safe to travel or be on her own after dark in this country. The increasing number of crimes being committed against women in India continues to be a matter of concern as Indian law is unable to deliver justice to victims speedily.

Decades ago, Indian women were confined to making conventional choices, which is not the case today. Most women work as professionals in some sphere or the other. Those who opted to take brief breaks for their children or family continue to stay updated about what is happening in their domain by freelancing. Unfortunately, working women in India have to deal with the worry about reaching home safely, particularly those who work in night shifts and have to travel by cab.

Women Related Laws: Employer’s Liability for Women Employees Working in Night

Women related laws are meant to protect their interests but there are many social factors that affect the implementation of Indian law. An important question arose pertaining to the liability of employers to provide safe transport facility to women employees working at night, in the case, Som Mittal  v. Government of Karnataka, (2008) 3 SCC 753.

The petitioner was the managing director of a company, in which women were employed to work at night. An employee of the company died while traveling on the night shift. Cognizance of offence was taken against the petitioner by the metropolitan magistrate under the provisions of the Karnataka Shops and Establishment Act, 1961. The petitioner filed a petition against the complaint in the High Court.  However, the cognizance taken by the magistrate was only altered by the High Court and not quashed.

The appellant challenged the decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court and cited section 3(h), of the Act. It exempts a person in management. The appellant argued that the provisions of the Act were inapplicable to him. He further argued that as per a government order, his establishment was exempted from the relevant stipulations of the Act and therefore, he shall be not liable for committing any crime punishable under the Act. On behalf of the state, the counsel argued that section 3(h), of the Act, excluded persons in management from seeking reliefs and benefits under the Act, but does not exclude  and not from the liabilities under the Act.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against the order of the High Court. The apex court refused to quash the legal proceedings against the petitioner. The Supreme Court observed that the trial to be conducted by the magistrate will give rise to significant dimensions to women related laws and serve a meaningful role in establishing the liability of employers towards women employees who travel at night from their workplace to their homes.

photo source: blogs@wsj