SC seeks govt's reply on plea over harassment of female sanitation workers

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre and others on a plea alleging that female sanitation workers at the Maharashi Dayanand University in Haryana were asked to prove through pictures of their private parts that they were menstruating.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notices to the Centre and others.

"This reflects the mindset. In Karnataka, they are giving period leave. After reading this, I thought will they ask proof for giving the leave," Justice Nagarathna observed.

"This shows the mentality of the persons. If some heavy work could not be done because of their absence somebody else could have been deployed. We hope something good will happen in this petition," the judge remarked.

During the hearing, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president and senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted this is a gross criminal case and it is a matter that needs attention.

The plea has now been posted for hearing on December 15.

The plea has sought directions to the Centre and Haryana to conduct a detailed inquiry into the alleged incident.

The Bar body has also sought guidelines to ensure that the right to health, dignity, bodily autonomy and privacy of women and girls are not violated when they are menstruating.

Three people connected with the Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) were booked for sexual harassment on October 31 for allegedly asking female sanitation workers to prove through pictures of their private parts that they were having their periods, police said.

The varsity, in a statement, said it had suspended two supervisors, who had been hired through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited on contract, while an internal probe had been ordered into the incident.

The alleged incident took place on October 26, a few hours before Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh was scheduled to visit the campus.

Three female sanitation workers, in a complaint to varsity authorities, alleged that the two supervisors first forced them to clean the complex despite being told they were "unwell" and then asked them to prove they were menstruating.

"We told them we could not work faster as we were unwell due to our periods, but they demanded we click photos of our private parts to prove it. When we refused, we were abused and threatened with dismissal," one of the sanitation workers, who claimed to be employed with the MDU for 11 years, alleged.

The women alleged that the supervisors told them they were following Assistant Registrar Shyam Sunder's orders.

Sunder has denied giving any such instruction to the supervisors.

The PGIMS police station SHO said an FIR was registered under charges of criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, intent to insult the modesty of a woman and assault or use of criminal force on a woman.

The accused may also be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.