PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has ordered a state-wide inspection of all village panchayats to establish their actual employee strength, including contractual and daily-wage workers, after questions arose over whether local bodies were understating their staff numbers to avoid setting up Internal Committees under the POSH Act.
Directing the Director of Panchayats to examine the books of accounts, muster rolls and official registers of every panchayat, the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar said the department must identify which local bodies employ 10 or more people. The civic bodies are consequently required to mandatorily constitute an Internal Committee (IC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
The direction followed a dispute over the employee strength of the Village Panchayat of Majorda-Utorda-Calata. Petitioner Sharlet Fernandes, who appeared in person, challenged the department’s claim that the panchayat employed fewer than 10 people and submitted a list identifying at least 15 workers, including contractual staff.
The Court noted that if the petitioner’s figures were correct, the panchayat would be in breach of the statutory requirement by failing to constitute an IC.
Pointing to gaps in the affidavit filed by the Director of Panchayats, the High Court further observed that the department had failed to identify which panchayats crossed the 10-employee threshold and were required to set up ICs, and which fell below it and came under the jurisdiction of the Local Committee (LC).
The Court also emphasised that the definition of an employee under the POSH Act extends beyond regular staff to include daily-wage earners, ad hoc and temporary employees, as well as contract workers engaged under the control of the principal employer. The department, therefore, cannot determine employee strength by counting only permanent staff.
“The Director of Panchayats must also explain the measures taken to bring panchayats employing fewer than 10 people within the statutory framework of the LC,” the Bench said, asking the Director to file a comprehensive compliance affidavit by November 30. The matter will come up for further directions on December 2.
