SC Seeks Centre, BCI Reply on POSH for Lawyers
SC Seeks Centre, BCI Reply on POSH for Lawyers
The Supreme Court seeks responses from the Centre and BCI on a plea challenging a Bombay HC order that POSH Act does not apply to bar councils, arguing for broader protections for women lawyers.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre and the Bar Council of India's response on a plea challenging a Bombay High Court order that held the POSH Act will not apply to complaints made by advocates against other advocates before bar councils.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan issued the notice and tagged the matter with a similar plea. The petition, filed by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association, argues that the High Court's July 7 decision leaves women lawyers remediless, since the POSH Act covers workplace harassment but the HC ruled it cannot be invoked in bar council complaints.
The petition points out that Section 35 of the Advocates Act deals with punishment for professional misconduct, which is distinct from sexual harassment, and contends the two regimes serve different functions but must both protect female lawyers.
The Bombay High Court had held that women lawyers can approach state bar councils under the Advocates Act but not under POSH, a position the petition says undermines safety and redress options for women in the legal profession.
The Supreme Court's move signals an intent to examine whether POSH protections should extend to barristers and the environments where they work, potentially reshaping how internal complaints are handled in legal spaces across the country.
Cover image source: SC seeks Centre, BCI reply on plea against HC bar on POSH complaints by women lawyers 🔗
