judgment, the government introduced the Protection of Women against Sexual
Harassment at the Workplace Bill in the parliament in December 2010. The bill,
which seeks to ensure a safe environment for women in the workplace, in both the
public and the private sectors, whether organised or unorganised, requires every
employer to establish an Internal Complaints Committee.^95
Another law that deserves mention here is the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act, which came into force on 26 October 2006. Section 3 of
the Act defines ‘domestic violence’ in a wide manner to include physical, sexual,
verbal, emotional and economic abuse caused by an act or omission. Any woman
who lives, or has lived, together in a shared household when they are related by
consanguinity, by marriage or through a relationship in the nature of marriage,
adoption or a joint family can seek protection against domestic violence. This law
empowers magistrates to pass a wide range of protective, injunctive or monetary
orders to protect aggrieved women.
In 2005 , the government enacted the Right to Information Act to enable citizens to
access the information under the control of public authorities so as to enhance
transparency and accountability in governance. Any person may make a request to
seek information in writing to the designated public information officer, who should
provide the requested information (or reject the application on any specified ground)
within thirty days.
96
Sections 8 and 9 of the Act prescribe several commonly accepted
circumstances in which access to information may be denied. In recent years, this law
has been increasingly used by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individ-
uals to expose corruption or challenge maladministration.
In order to deal with cases related to environmental pollution in an effective and
expeditious manner, in June 2010 the Indian parliament enacted the National
Green Tribunal Act, which establishes a new quasi-judicial body comprising both
judicial and expert administrative members at the national level.^97 The Green
Tribunal will deal with all environment-related civil cases not only under the
Environment Protection Act 1986 , but also under water and air pollution laws
and the laws dealing with forest conservation and biodiversity.^98
In 2006 , the government also introduced mandatory environmental-impact
assessment for certain types of development project.^99 However, striking a balance
(^95) Press Information Bureau, Government of India, ‘Protection of Women against Sexual
Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 ’, 4 November 2010 ,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.
aspx?relid= 6678.
(^96) Right to Information Act, Sections 6 and 7.
(^97) The National Green Tribunal was formally constituted in October 2010 , with Justice
Patna (a former Supreme Court judge) being appointed as its first chairman. Ministry of
Environment and Forests, ‘National Green Tribunal’,http://moef.nic.in/modules/recent-
initiatives/NGT.
(^98) National Green Tribunal Act 2010 , Section 3.
(^99) Ministry of Environment and Forests, ‘Environmental clearances’,http://moef.nic.in/
modules/project-clearances/environment-clearances.