An apparel manufacturing company having large number of women employees was losing sales due to various factors. The company hired a reputed marketing executive, who increased the volume of sales within a short span of time. However, some unconfirmed reports came up regarding his indulgence in sexual harassment at the work place.
After sometime, a woman employee lodged a formal complaint to the management against the marketing executive about sexually harassing her. Faced with the company’s indifference in not taking cognizance of her grievance, she lodged an FIR with the Police.
Realizing the sensitivity and gravity of the situation, the company called the woman employee to negotiate. In that she was offered a hefty sum of money to withdraw the complaint and the FIR and also give in writing that the marketing executive is not involved in the case.
Identify the ethical issues involved in this case. What options are available to the woman employee ?
Approach · directive: “identify / what options”
What it asks · Identify the ethical issues (harassment, negligence, hush money, fairness to the accused) and set out the woman's options, with a recommended course.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Identify the ethical issues involved in the case
- Set out the options available to the woman employee, with a recommended course
Open with · Kant's humanity formula: no person may be treated merely as a means; the company treats a woman's dignity as a price and a star performer as an asset.
Cover
- Issues: sexual harassment violates a woman's dignity, equality and right to a safe workplace; the company put sales and a star performer above employees' safety.
- Issues: ignoring earlier reports and her complaint is negligence and breach of duty of care, yet the accused too is owed a fair inquiry.
- Issues: offering money for withdrawal and a written denial is an attempt to suppress evidence and obstruct justice, exploiting a power imbalance.
- Law: the 2013 workplace harassment Act requires an Internal Committee and, in section 10, bars monetary settlement as a basis of conciliation; the Vishaka guidelines (1997) preceded it.
- Option 1, accept and withdraw: quick relief, but it denies justice, shields a possible repeat offender and means signing a false statement.
- Option 2, refuse and pursue: keep the FIR, use the Internal Committee, preserve evidence, seek legal aid; slow and stressful, but it upholds dignity.
- Recommended: refuse the offer, report the attempt to suppress the case, seek support from NCW or women's groups, and keep a record of the offer.
Close with · Dignity and the law are not for sale; impartial inquiry and protection for complainants guard a company's future better than any star performer.
Add value (verified)
- Kant's Humanity Formula: never treat humanity, in oneself or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Kant's Moral Philosophy — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“This formulation states that we should never act in such a way that we treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself.”
- Section 19 of the POSH Act, 2013 makes it the employer's duty to provide a safe working environment and to display the penal consequences of sexual harassment. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — Act and Rules, hosted by Delhi Police ↗“19. Duties of employer.— Every employer shall— (a) provide a safe working environment at the workplace with shall include safety from the persons coming into contact at the workplace; (b) display at any conspicuous place in the workplace, the penal consequences of sexual harassments;”
- Section 14 of the POSH Act, 2013 allows action where the Internal Committee finds a complaint malicious or knowingly false, a safeguard for the accused. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — Act and Rules, hosted by Delhi Police ↗“Where the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, arrives at a conclusion that the allegation against the respondent is malicious or the aggrieved woman or any other person making the complaint has made the complaint knowing it to be false”
- Section 12 of the POSH Act, 2013: during an inquiry, on the woman's written request, the Internal Committee may recommend transfer of the woman or the respondent, or leave for her of up to three months. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — Act and Rules, hosted by Delhi Police ↗“During the pendency of an inquiry on a written request made by the aggrieved woman, the Internal Committee or the local Committee, as the case may be, may recommend to the employer to— (a) transfer the aggrieved woman or the respondent to any other workplace; or (b) grant leave to the aggrieved woman up to a period of three months;”
- Section 4 of the POSH Act, 2013: the Internal Committee must include one member from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women, or a person familiar with sexual harassment issues. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — Act and Rules, hosted by Delhi Police ↗“(c) one member from amongst non-governmental organisations or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment:”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 355 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Kant's humanity formula forbids treating any person merely as a means. Here a company treats a harassed employee's dignity as a price to be paid, and a star salesman as an asset to be shielded.
Stakeholders
- The complainant; other women employees; the accused executive, owed a fair inquiry; management and shareholders; police and courts; society's trust in safe workplaces.
Ethical issues involved
- Dignity and safety: harassment violates a woman's dignity and equality; Section 19 of the POSH Act, 2013 makes a safe working environment the employer's duty.
- Negligence: earlier reports and her formal complaint were ignored, though the Act requires an Internal Committee to inquire.
- Profit over people: a high-performing salesman was valued above a largely female workforce.
- Hush money and false denial: buying silence and a false written statement obstructs justice and exploits the power gap; Section 10 bars money as a basis of conciliation.
- Fairness to the accused: the reports are unconfirmed, so a due inquiry, not trial by rumour, is owed; Section 14 lets action follow a proven malicious complaint too.
Options available to the woman employee
| Option | Gains | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Accept money, withdraw | Quick relief | False statement; others at risk |
| Refuse and pursue both | Truth, dignity, deterrence | Slow, stressful, retaliation |
| Drop FIR, keep inquiry | Less strain | Rewards the cover-up |
Recommended course
- Refuse the offer: record it in writing and report it to the police as an attempt to obstruct justice.
- Pursue both remedies: the FIR and an Internal Committee inquiry; preserve messages and witnesses; seek legal aid and the National Commission for Women's support.
- Interim relief: under Section 12, ask the Committee to recommend the respondent's transfer or leave for herself during the inquiry.
- Justification: truthfulness, dignity and the safety of other women outweigh money; the law itself forbids what the company proposes.
Systemic fix
- A working Internal Committee with an external member from an NGO committed to women's cause or a person familiar with such issues (Section 4), an anti-retaliation policy, regular training and board oversight.
Dignity and the law are not for sale. A company that inquires impartially and protects complainants guards its future more surely than any star performer.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.