87 Govt Offices In Tirunelveli Dist Don’t Have ICCs For Women’s Safety
The RTI response also revealed that 16 complaints of sexual harassment were received by the committees between 2020 and September 16, 2025.
TIRUNELVELI: As many as 87 of 187 government offices under the Tirunelveli district administration do not have internal complaints committees (ICCs) to deal with complaints of sexual harassment of women employees, despite the statutory requirement being in force for more than 13 years.
According to the reply furnished by the public information ifficer, Tirunelveli district social welfare office, for an RTI application, ICCs have been constituted in only 100 of the 187 offices.
Copies of the orders constituting the committees in these offices were also furnished in response to the RTI application filed by Tirunelveli-based RTI activist and advocate Brahmma.
The information was sought under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, enacted following the Supreme Court’s Vishaka guidelines. The Act provides for an institutional mechanism to receive, enquire into and redress complaints of sexual harassment at workplaces.
The RTI response also revealed that 16 complaints of sexual harassment were received by the committees between 2020 and September 16, 2025. However, the information officer did not provide a department-wise breakup or details of the action taken and outcome of the complaints, making it difficult to ascertain whether the cases were properly investigated and disposed of or whether the complainants received redressal.
Advocate Brahmma said the findings raised serious questions over the implementation and monitoring of the statutory safeguards for women employees in government offices. He questioned how women working in the 87 offices without ICCs could confidently report sexual harassment and seek redressal when the mechanism specifically prescribed under the law was absent.
He also expressed concern that the absence of a formally constituted committee could discourage victims from complaining because of fears of workplace pressure, reprisals or other adverse consequences.
The RTI activist added that the issue could not be dismissed as an administrative delay as it directly concerned the safety, dignity and confidence of women employees and urged the district administration to constitute ICCs in all the offices under its control and monitor their functioning so as to ensure that complaints are properly recorded, investigated and disposed of in accordance with the law.
TIRUNELVELI: As many as 87 of 187 government offices under the Tirunelveli district administration do not have internal complaints committees (ICCs) to deal with complaints of sexual harassment of women employees, despite the statutory requirement being in force for more than 13 years.
According to the reply furnished by the public information ifficer, Tirunelveli district social welfare office, for an RTI application, ICCs have been constituted in only 100 of the 187 offices.
Copies of the orders constituting the committees in these offices were also furnished in response to the RTI application filed by Tirunelveli-based RTI activist and advocate Brahmma.
The information was sought under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, enacted following the Supreme Court’s Vishaka guidelines. The Act provides for an institutional mechanism to receive, enquire into and redress complaints of sexual harassment at workplaces.
The RTI response also revealed that 16 complaints of sexual harassment were received by the committees between 2020 and September 16, 2025. However, the information officer did not provide a department-wise breakup or details of the action taken and outcome of the complaints, making it difficult to ascertain whether the cases were properly investigated and disposed of or whether the complainants received redressal.
Advocate Brahmma said the findings raised serious questions over the implementation and monitoring of the statutory safeguards for women employees in government offices. He questioned how women working in the 87 offices without ICCs could confidently report sexual harassment and seek redressal when the mechanism specifically prescribed under the law was absent.
He also expressed concern that the absence of a formally constituted committee could discourage victims from complaining because of fears of workplace pressure, reprisals or other adverse consequences.
The RTI activist added that the issue could not be dismissed as an administrative delay as it directly concerned the safety, dignity and confidence of women employees and urged the district administration to constitute ICCs in all the offices under its control and monitor their functioning so as to ensure that complaints are properly recorded, investigated and disposed of in accordance with the law.
