| Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Supreme Court of India |
| Full case name | Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan and Ors. |
| Decided | 13 August 1997 |
| Citation | AIR 1997 SC 3011 |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent action | Superseded by The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 ("Sexual Harassment Act"). |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | J.S. Verma (Chief Justice), Sujata V. Manohar, B.N. Kirpal |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | J.S. Verma (Chief Justice) |
Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan was a 1997 Indian Supreme Court case where various women's groups led by Naina Kapur and her organisation, Sakshi filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the state of Rajasthan and the central Government of India to enforce the fundamental rights of working women under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The petition was filed after Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan, was brutally gang raped for stopping a child marriage.[1]
The court decided that the consideration of "International Conventions and norms are significant for the purpose of interpretation of the guarantee of gender equality, right to work with human dignity in Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution and the safeguards against sexual harassment implicit therein." The petition, resulted in what are popularly known as the Vishaka Guidelines. The judgment of August 1997 given by a bench of J. S. Verma (then C.J.I)., Sujata Manohar and B. N. Kirpal, provided the basic definitions of sexual harassment at the workplace and provided guidelines to deal with it. It is seen as a significant legal victory for women's groups in India.[1][2][3][4]
- ^ a b "Sexual harassment at workplace". The Indian Express. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Vishaka & Ors vs State of Rajasthan & Ors on 13 August, 1997".
- ^ "Vishaka & Others Vs. State of Rajasthan & Others". www.legitquest.com. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Vishaka and others V. State of Rajasthan and others" (PDF).