In a notable legal decision, the Madras High Court has upheld the findings of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) against a Service Delivery Manager at HCL Technologies Ltd., overturning a previous ruling by the Principal Labour Court in Chennai. The case, involving allegations of sexual harassment, revolved around N Parsarathy, who had been with the company since 2016 and was terminated following complaints from female colleagues.
Justice R N Manjula, in her decision dated December 11, 2019, criticized the Labour Court’s reversal of the ICC’s findings, which initially found Parsarathy guilty of the charges. The Labour Court had dismissed the sexual harassment complaints citing procedural inadequacies, including the non-provision of CCTV footage to Parsarathy. However, the High Court ruled that the Labour Court failed to appreciate the nuances of the situation, particularly the power dynamics involved due to Parsarathy’s supervisory role over the complainants.
The High Court highlighted that the ICC had conducted a thorough investigation, ensuring fairness and adopting an appropriate enquiry method to balance the interests of all parties involved. Justice Manjula emphasized the credibility of the complainants’ accounts and noted that their feelings of discomfort and embarrassment were justified responses to Parsarathy’s actions, which were deemed inappropriate and constitutive of sexual harassment.
