Form bodies to receive sexual harassment complaints: SC

A Supreme Court committee yesterday directed the judges concerned to form committees for receiving complaints of sexual harassment at lower courts across the country.

All district and sessions judges, metropolitan sessions judges, chief judicial magistrates and chief metropolitan magistrates were ordered to submit reports to the SC committee after constituting the bodies in 15 working days.

The five-member SC committee was formed in November last year to receive complaints of sexual harassment on court premises, conduct inquiries into them and make necessary recommendations to this effect.

Justice Krishna Debnath, now a judge of the SC's Appellate Division, was made chairperson of the committee.

The other members are: Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque, also an HC judge; Md Badrul Alam Bhuiyan, registrar of the Appellate Division, advocate Fawzia Karim Firoze and advocate Tamanna Ferdous.

Earlier on May 14, 2009, the HC had directed the authorities to form the five-member committee headed by a woman at every workplace and institution to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment.