From Vishaka To Posh: The Constitutionalization Of Gender Justice In Indian Labour Law
- IJLLR Journal
- 4 days ago
- 1 min read
Mr. Sumit Kumar, Research Scholar, Development of Law, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
ABSTRACT
Sexual harassment at the workplace constitutes a structural barrier to women’s equal participation in economic life, undermining constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and freedom of occupation. In India, the legal recognition of this harm did not originate in legislative foresight but emerged through constitutional adjudication that reimagined workplace safety as a fundamental right. The Supreme Court’s decision in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan1 marked a decisive shift by treating sexual harassment as a violation of Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution and by formulating binding guidelines in the absence of statutory law. The subsequent enactment of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 represents the legislative codification of this constitutional vision. This paper undertakes a doctrinal analysis of the Vishaka–POSH trajectory as a process of constitutionalization of labour law, critically examining its normative foundations, institutional design, and enforcement limitations. It argues that while the POSH framework embodies constitutional morality in form, its transformative potential remains constrained by structural weaknesses that demand renewed constitutional engagement.
Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Gender Justice; Constitutional Morality; Labour Law; POSH Act; Vishaka Guidelines
