The Rajya Sabha on December 08, 2023, issued the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Amendment Act, 2022 to further amend the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
The following amendments have been stated:
• For section 6 which states the Constitution and jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal, the following new section shall be substituted, namely, —
"6. (1) Every District Judge shall constitute in the district concerned, a tribunal to be known as the "Employment Tribunal" to receive complaints of sexual harassment from establishments where Internal Committee has not been constituted or the Internal Committee or aggrieved person directly and such complaints would be considered as legal trials.
(2) Every District Judge shall designate one nodal officer in every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area to receive complaints and forward the same to the concerned Employment Tribunal within a period of seven days.
(3) The jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal shall extend to the areas of the district where it is constituted."
• In section 9 of the principal Act, for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—
"(1) Any aggrieved woman may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the Internal Committee if so constituted, or the Employment Tribunal, within a reasonable period of time with regard to the facts and circumstances surrounding the making of such a complaint and the personal circumstances of the complainant, to be determined by the Tribunal:
Provided further that the Internal Committee or the Employment Tribunal as the case may be, may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the time limit based on the discretion of the Employment Tribunal, if it is satisfied that the circumstances were such which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the said period.".
[BILL NO. CXI OF 2022]
