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Victims of sexual harassment must be provided case information within 48 hours, holds CIC
The Central Information Commission has ruled that information on sexual harassment cases should be provided to the victims within 48 hours under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, as it pertains to their “life and liberty” under Section 7 (1) of the Act. The Appeal under consideration by the CIC was filed by a woman who had complained of an instance of sexual harassment at workplace and had filed an RTI application to know the status of the same, was denied information on the grounds that the case was still under investigation. The Commission opined that the complainant was deprived of her right to information, as guaranteed to her under two Acts i.e., Right to Information Act, as well as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Dr. Kirti N. Borkar v. PIO, ESIC, New Delhi CIC/BS/C/2014/000265 [Central Information Commission]