The Vishaka guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in 1997 dealt with which subject?
- A.Bonded labour in stone quarries
- B.Sexual harassment of women at the workplace
- C.Pollution of the river Ganga
- D.Custodial torture by the police
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, sexual harassment of women at the workplace. The petition followed the gang rape of a social worker in rural Rajasthan who had tried to stop a child marriage. With no statute on the subject, the Supreme Court drew on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and framed binding guidelines on prevention, complaints committees and employer responsibility, declaring that they would hold the field until Parliament legislated. They governed workplaces until the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013 replaced them, and they are the textbook example of judicial activism filling a legislative vacuum. A, bonded labour was the subject of Bandhua Mukti Morcha in 1984. C, pollution of the Ganga was dealt with in the M. C. Mehta Ganga pollution cases. D, custodial torture was addressed in D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, which laid down arrest and detention guidelines.
Read the full article: Public Interest Litigation and Judicial Activism: Cases and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following writs can be issued by a High Court to secure the liberty of an individual?
- A.Mandamus
- B.Quo-warranto
- C.Habeas Corpus
- D.Prohibition
Show answer
Habeas corpus is Latin for you may have the body. A High Court under Article 226, and the Supreme Court under Article 32, issues it to the person or authority holding someone in custody, ordering that the detenu be produced before the court so that the legality of the detention…
Read the full explanation →Which case is generally regarded as the first public interest litigation in India?
- A.S. P. Gupta v. Union of India
- B.Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar
- C.Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan
- D.Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India
Show answer
Decided in 1979, it arose from a newspaper report on undertrial prisoners in Bihar who had been in jail awaiting trial for longer than the maximum sentence their alleged offences carried.
Read the full explanation →In which case, popularly called the Judges Transfer case, did the Supreme Court lay down the relaxed rule of locus standi?
- A.Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
- B.Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India
- C.S. P. Gupta v. Union of India
- D.Minerva Mills v. Union of India
Show answer
The Supreme Court held that where a legal wrong is caused to a person or a class of persons who cannot approach the court because of poverty, disability or a socially disadvantaged position, any member of the public acting in good faith may move the court on their behalf.
Read the full explanation →Which Article of the Constitution directs the State to provide free legal aid so that justice is not denied because of economic disability?
- A.Article 38
- B.Article 39A
- C.Article 41
- D.Article 43A
Show answer
It is a Directive Principle that requires the State to secure a legal system which promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity, and in particular to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes so that no citizen is denied the opportunity to secure justice by reason of…
Read the full explanation →Article 39A was inserted into the Constitution by which amendment?
- A.The 24th Amendment Act, 1971
- B.The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
- C.The 44th Amendment Act, 1978
- D.The 86th Amendment Act, 2002
Show answer
Often called the Mini Constitution because of the number of provisions it touched, it added several Directive Principles, among them Article 39A on equal justice and free legal aid, Article 43A on worker participation in management and Article 48A on the protection of the environment, forests and wildlife.
Read the full explanation →