Kochi, Mar 18 (PTI) The Kerala High Court has notified the regulations for preventing sexual harassment and ensuring gender sensitisation within its premises.
The Gender Sensitisation and Sexual Harassment of Women at the High Court of Kerala (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2026, was notified in the official gazette of the state on March 17.
The regulations, which aim to prevent sexual harassment of women within the precincts of the High Court and redressal of any complaints that may be lodged there, will come into effect from March 23, the notification said.
The regulations provide for constituting of a Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) comprising 7 to 13 members and shall include one or two judges, one of whom shall be the chairperson of the panel. One or two advocates with at least 20 years of membership in the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) shall also be there.
Besides them, the other members shall include one or two lawyers nominated by the KHCAA who are its members for at least 10 years with one of them being a woman. One woman member each from the Kerala Federation of Women Lawyers and the Kerala High Court Clerks’ Association will also be included.
In addition to them, the Chief Justice can nominate one or two persons from the Women and Child Development Department or an NGO having having experience in the field of social justice, women empowerment, and/or gender justice, and one of them has to be a woman, the regulations said.
“The term of each member of the GSICC shall be for a period of two years, provided no member shall be nominated for more than two consecutive terms,” it said, adding that the committee shall meet at least once in three months and whenever found necessary.
The GSICC shall also be responsible for framing policy from time to time and its implementation with regard to gender sensitisation and prevention and redressal of sexual harassment in the High Court, it said.
The regulations also define what constitutes an act of sexual harassment and it includes physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, making sexually coloured remarks, showing or exhibiting pornography and/or sexually explicit material by any means and sending undesirable sexually coloured messages.
Besides these, the other acts of sexual harassment include stalking or consistently following aggrieved woman, voyeurism including overt or tacit observation by the accused by any means of the aggrieved woman in her private moments and any conduct whereby the accused takes advantage of his position and subjects the aggrieved woman to any form of sexual harassment and seeks sexual favours especially while holding out career advancements whether explicitly or implicitly, as an incentive or a natural result of submitting to his insinuations/ demands.
Additionally, any implied or explicit promise of preferential or detrimental treatment in her career or employment, threat about her present or future career or employment, interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her, or any treatment having a sexual colour or content likely to affect her emotional and/or physical health or safety, will also be an act of sexual harassment, according to the regulations.
It also states that the Chief Justice, upon receipt of the inquiry report, recommendations of the GSICC and any representations, shall afford an opportunity of hearing to the parties and after that may pass appropriate orders.
The provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 shall override these Regulations and the GSICC shall have no jurisdiction to entertain the complaints that fall under the provisions of the said Act, it said. PTI HMP SA
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