4 retired judges to conduct public hearings of all MeToo cases, says Maneka Gandhi

Maneka Gandhi on Friday said that the government will form a four-member committee of retired judges to conduct public hearings of all the cases pertaining to MeToo movement.

Maneka Gandhi says that the government follows a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment of women at workplaces. (Image: PTI)

#MeToo Movement: In the wake of ongoing #MeToo movement that has brought focus on cases of sexual abuse at workplaces, Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi on Friday said that the government will form a four-member committee of retired judges to conduct public hearings of all the cases pertaining to it. The Union minister also urged all the women to report the offense of sexual harassment on the portal of the ministry. “I believe in the pain and trauma behind every single complaint. Cases of sexual harassment at work must be dealt with a policy of zero tolerance,” said the Union minister in a statement. While speaking to news agency PTI, Gandhi also informed that the ministry has proposed to set up a committee with senior judicial and legal persons as members to look into all issues emanating from the #MeToo campaign. “The committee will look into the legal and institutional framework which is in place for handling complaints of sexual harassment, including some of the complaints if required and advise the ministry on how to strengthen these," she added. The ministry has recently released an official statement on Gandhi which says that the government follows a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment of women at workplaces. “I want workplaces to be made more conductive to women employees. Investigations into the complaints should be carried out swiftly in a free and fair manner,” the Union minister said in her statement.

Official statement of Union Minister Smt. @ManekaGandhiBJP on #MeTooIndia movement.#SexualHarassmentAtWork #DrawTheLine pic.twitter.com/5ELHZVHnth

— Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) October 12, 2018

Earlier this week, Gandhi, said that sex harassment complaints should be allowed even 10-15 years later and said she was happy that the #MeToo campaign has encouraged women to speak about crimes committed against them. “You will always remember the person who did it, which is why we have written to the Law Ministry that complaints should be without any time limit,” she said on Monday. “You can now complain 10-15 years later, doesn't matter how much later. If you're going to complain the avenue is still open," she said, adding that "anger at sexual molestation never goes away,” Gandhi added further. The ongoing #MeToo campaign came into light after former actor Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of a film 10 years back.