BCCI to create new committee to restructure its Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy

It has been decided that joint secretary Devajit Saikia and treasurer Ashish Shelar, both senior legal professionals, will work in tandem with the Board’s legal team to formalise the process and get things ready ahead of the Annual General Meeting.

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside its headquarters in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will soon create a new committee to help restructure its Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH) policy.

In the Special General Meeting in Ahmedabad on Saturday, it was decided that joint secretary Devajit Saikia and treasurer Ashish Shelar, both senior legal professionals, will work in tandem with the Board’s legal team to formalise the process and get things ready ahead of the Annual General Meeting.

“We will create a committee to structure the POSH policy. The draft is ready, it will be presented before the AGM for ratification and necessary approvals,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said.

Currently, the BCCI doesn’t have an Internal Committee (IC) to looks into allegations of sexual harassment. In 2018, following the sexual harassment allegations against the then CEO Rahul Johri, the BCCI established a four-member Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to address such matters. It had appointed Rajlaxmi Arora as the head of its IC, alongside general manager Saba Karim, Rupawati Rao and Veena Gowda. However, over the last couple of years, the BCCI has not re-appointed an IC.

The BCCI, in 2021, had decided that its officials, players and contracted individuals will come under POSH guidelines, but it didn’t have any committee to look into allegations on the same.

A few weeks ago, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the BCCI for non-compliance with the POSH Act, and now, with the Board planning a revised policy, the IC may include more members.

“Since both Saikia and Shelar are senior legal professionals, their advice will help. They will ensure that things are in place,” a source said, indicating that names have been shortlisted and will be finalised before the AGM, likely to be held in September.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the ‘POSH Act’, is a law established to make the workplace safer for women by preventing, prohibiting, and redressing acts of sexual harassment.