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.
It asks 2 things — 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 · the conflict of dignity with profit, through Kant's humanity formula: no person may be treated merely as a means, yet the company prices dignity and shields a star salesman.
Cover
- Stakeholders: the complainant, other women employees, the accused (owed a fair inquiry), management and shareholders, police and courts, society.
- Ethical issues as value against value: dignity v. profit (POSH Act Section 19; Vishaka, 1997) and duty of care v. indifference.
- Justice v. hush money (Section 10 bars monetary settlement in conciliation) and due process v. trial by rumour (Section 14).
- Options table: accept and withdraw, refuse and pursue both remedies, or drop the FIR but keep the inquiry, with merits and demerits.
- Course: refuse and report the offer, pursue the FIR and an Internal Committee inquiry, interim relief under Section 12, NCW support.
- Long-term: a working Internal Committee with an external member (Section 4), an anti-retaliation policy, training and board oversight.
Close with · 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.
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· 352words · Minimalist IAS
Dignity versus profit: Kant's humanity formula forbids treating any person merely as a means, yet the company prices a harassed employee's dignity and shields a star salesman as an asset.
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 v. profit: a high-performing salesman was valued above a largely female workforce, though Section 19 of the POSH Act, 2013 (preceded by the Vishaka guidelines of 1997) makes a safe workplace the employer's duty.
- Duty of care v. indifference: earlier reports and her formal complaint were ignored, though the Act requires an Internal Committee to inquire.
- Justice v. hush money: buying silence and a false written denial obstructs justice and exploits the power gap; Section 10 bars money as a basis of conciliation.
- Due process v. trial by rumour: the reports are unconfirmed, so the accused is owed a fair inquiry; Section 14 allows action against a proven malicious complaint too.
Options available to the woman employee
| Option | Merits | Demerits |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- At once, 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.
Long-term measures
- 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.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 1 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
