Allahabad, June 08: A District Program Officer approached the Allahabad High Court assailing the order of suspension passed against him by the Chief Secretary Child Development and Nutrition.
The Allahabad High Court in Case :- WRIT - A No. - 6131 of 2025 has held that if the employee is regularly discharging duties in a position that he holds as a head of the department, in matters of complaint of sexual harassment where a decision is yet to be taken finally by the authority, the authority may place the said employee under suspension.
The Petitioner, who was posted and working as District Program Officer, had invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to assail the order of suspension passed against him by the Chief Secretary Child Development and Nutrition, Uttar Pradesh.
The Single Bench of Justice Ajit Kumar observed, “Naturally if the employee is regularly discharging duties on a position that he holds as a head of the department, in matters of complaint of sexual harassment where a decision is yet to be taken finally by the authority, the authority may place the said employee under suspension firstly as a confidence building measure amongst the working women in the department and secondly to ensure that such an officer may not abuse his position to pressurize other working women or otherwise also to the aggrieved women even while the final action is still pending consideration.”
The suspension order was challenged on the ground that the words spoken to the aggrieved woman did not amount to sexual harassment concerning her workplace.
It was the Petitioner’s case that the internal complaint committee was not duly constituted as mandatorily required under Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
It was further his case that he was denied the opportunity to cross-examine the complainant as well as to make representation
Bench observed, “It is well-settled principle in service jurisprudence that suspension is no punishment. An employee is placed under suspension by the employer only to ensure that he is not able to influence the enquiry in any manner, in as much as he is not able to interfere with the evidence or also in such cases where the employer finds it necessary to place an employee under suspension so as to have smooth disposal of disciplinary Proceedings.
On the facts of the case, the Bench noted that the circumstances and the manner in which the body shaming as verbal remarks had been attributed to the petitioner by the aggrieved women at the workplace may constitute sexual harassment.
However, observation if made as a final view in this regard may run adverse to the petitioner and may influence the disciplinary authority in taking final action therefore, I refrain myself from expressing any final view qua the act of body shaming but since the petitioner has been indicted by the internal complaint committee, prima facie a case is made out to justify the department in placing the petitioner under suspension pending final action in the disciplinary proceedings”, it said.
17. Coming to the other arguments regarding non-compliance of provisions for constituting internal complaint committee or that procedure has not been followed as contemplated under Section 11, I am of the considered view that this aspect can be looked into by the appellate authority exercising its power under Section 18 of the Act in the event petitioner prefers an appeal.
Though the constitution of internal complaint committee is a legal issue but other factual issues are also involved like in the given facts and circumstances whether petitioner can be subjected to final action in terms of the punishment without following the procedure prescribed under the departmental punishment and appeal rules and all this can be gone into by the appellate authority itself and this would also include consideration of question as to validity of the recommendations made by the internal complaint committee.
18. Under the circumstances while I decline to grant indulgence in the matter of suspension I dispose of this petition at this stage with a direction to the petitioner to prefer an appeal within a period of four weeks from today and in the event any such appeal is preferred, the same shall be disposed of by the appellate authority by means of a reasoned and speaking order within a further period of two months. It is further provided that the appellate authority will look into all legal aspects of the matter that may be raised by the petitioner in appeal.
19. It is further provided that until the appeal is finally decided no disciplinary action shall be taken against the petitioner pursuant to the recommendations made by the internal complaint committee and suspension of petitioner shall also abide by the final out come of the appeal, however, petitioner shall be regularly paid subsistence allowance so long as he remains under suspension.
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