President rejects appeal in sexual harassment case

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi has rejected the appeal of an accused of sexual harassment at the workplace in which he had requested for his another cross-examination after the engagement of a fresh counsel.

Rejecting the appeal, the president referred the case back to the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment at Workplace (FOSPAH) for final adjudication after appraisal of the evidence, as per the statement issued by the President House on Friday.

The president endorsed ombudsperson's observation that the filing of appeal by the accused was an apparent attempt to prolong the impugned case indefinitely to enhance the anguish and agony of the complainant. It was further observed that the matter had already consumed sufficient time in the disposal due to the accused's miscellaneous applications and was tantamount to starting a new round of litigation which prima facie was against the spirit and scheme of the Act 2010.

President Alvi observed that the complainant who had filed a case of sexual harassment under section 8 of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 before the Ombudsperson on May 27, 2019 had yet not been adjudicated.

The accused had filed a representation before the president against the order of September 23, 2021 for seeking permission to re-examine the complainant by a fresh counsel which was rejected.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2023.