Supreme Court reconstitutes gender sensitisation committee (IMG Internet)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India reconstituted the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC). The committee is responsible for dealing with cases of sexual harassment at the Supreme Court.
The committee has been reconstituted as per the Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India Regulations, 2013. Justice B.V. Nagarathna has been nominated as the Chairperson of the committee while Justice N. Kotiswar Singh is a member of the same. Other members include representatives from the court, bar associations and external members with expertise in gender sensitisation.
The GSICC is the Supreme Court’s internal body for addressing complaints related to sexual harassment. The committee is authorised to receive complaints, conduct investigations and make recommendations on the cases.
The GSICC also performs tasks related to spreading awareness regarding gender sensitisation. The committee organizes workshops and other programmes for members of the bar associations and court staff.
The committee can be approached by women associated with the Supreme Court of India. This includes employees, lawyers, interns, contractual workers and other visiting individuals.
The mechanism serves as an institutionalised way to address complaints at the court premises and organisations affiliated with the court.
The GSICC was constituted in 2013. The constitution of the committee was prompted by the need to have strong safeguards against sexual harassment at work. The functioning of the GSICC is governed by special regulations for the Supreme Court of India.
The functioning and composition of the committee is similar to Internal Committees that are constituted at workplaces as per the 2013 act.
The GSICC is reconstituted periodically. The periodic reconstitution takes place upon completion of term of office of the members or in case of administrative requirement.
