Karnataka has cleared 89% of workplace harassment complaints against government officials since 2017: Centre data

Karnataka ranked among the top states for the highest disposal rates of workplace sexual harassment cases filed against government officials, according to government data.

The disposal rate in Karnataka was 89 per cent, with as many as 50 of the 56 cases filed since 2017 against state officials disposed of, the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry told the Parliament last week.

In contrast, neighbouring Maharashtra had a disposal rate of only 21 per cent, even as it had the highest number of cases (102), with only 22 cases disposed of.

In the national capital, of the 62 cases of workplace harassment filed, only 21 were disposed of, at a disposal rate of 34 per cent.

The WCD ministry furnished the data in response to questions posed by several MPs, including former WCD minister Maneka Gandhi, in the Lok Sabha. Others who posed the question include BJP MPs Raja Amareshwara Naik, Sukanta Majumdar, Janardhan Singh Sigriwal, Vinod Kumar Sonkar, and Bhola Singh.

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To be sure, these complaints were registered at the Sexual Harassment Electronic Box (SHe-Box), the online complaint system mandated under the ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. All the complaints listed are those recorded since the portal was set up in 2017.

“Once a complaint is registered in the SHe-Box, it directly reaches the concerned authorities having jurisdiction to take action in the matter. The responsibility to take action on such complaints as well as to ensure updating of status in that regard on SHe Box, is with the concerned authorities,” the government said in its reply.

Last month, the WCD ministry said that while currently, the portal deals with complaints pertaining to state governments and Central government ministries, there is an intent to extend it to private companies as well.

Across the country, the disposal rate was 46 per cent; with 327 cases of the total of 708 cases disposed of. In India’s biggest state, Uttar Pradesh, the disposal rate was 80 per cent; with 74 of the 92 complaints filed since 2017 having been dealt with.

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