The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has approached the Supreme Court demanding a judicially monitored inquiry into shocking allegations that female sanitation workers at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak, Haryana, were forced to prove they were menstruating by sending pictures of their private parts.
The SCBA’s plea urges the apex court to direct the Centre and Haryana government to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident and to frame guidelines to protect women’s right to health, dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy during menstruation. The Bar body argued that such degrading treatment reflects a systemic failure to ensure workplace dignity and violates fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The controversy erupted after three female sanitation workers at MDU lodged a complaint on October 26, alleging that two supervisors compelled them to continue cleaning despite informing them they were unwell due to menstruation. The women further alleged that the supervisors demanded photographic proof of their condition when they refused to work faster.
“We told them we could not work faster as we were unwell due to our periods, but they demanded we click photos of our private parts to prove it. When we refused, we were abused and threatened with dismissal,” one of the complainants, employed with the university for over a decade, stated.
The incident occurred just hours before Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh’s scheduled visit to the campus. The supervisors, reportedly acting on the alleged directions of Assistant Registrar Shyam Sunder, have been suspended. Sunder, however, has denied giving any such orders.
The Rohtak police registered an FIR at the PGIMS police station under sections related to sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, and assault or use of criminal force on a woman. Authorities indicated that provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act may also be invoked.
Following the outrage, MDU suspended both supervisors, who were hired on contract through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited, and initiated an internal inquiry.
The SCBA’s petition is expected to come up for listing soon. It not only calls for accountability in the MDU case but also seeks nationwide safeguards to prevent any future humiliation or coercion of women employees based on menstruation.
If the Supreme Court admits the plea, it could pave the way for a broader judicial intervention on menstrual dignity and workplace rights — an area rarely addressed in India’s legal framework.
