Hyderabad: The Telangana State Human Rights Commission (TGHRC) does not have the jurisdiction to entertain workplace-related complaints against a private company, said the High Court recently.
The court noted that the TGHRC can look into complaints only when the allegations involve a public servant. The directions were given by a division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin, while quashing TGHRC’s proceedings against Wells Fargo International Solutions, an American multinational financial services company.
While disposing of two petitions filed by the firm challenging the commission’s proceedings against it on a female employee’s complaint, the court clarified that the employee remains free to pursue other legal remedies before appropriate
forums.
The complaint
According to a Times of India report, the woman joined the firm as an associate financial analyst in 2011. While she was promoted to senior commercial loan servicing representative by 2019, she alleged workplace harassment by a superior and performance appraisal manipulation.
She alleged that such trauma led to a miscarriage. In July 2019, she complained to HR against two
colleagues, but the latter closed the probe in December of the same year. She then approached the TGHRC.
Wells Fargo challenged the commission’s jurisdiction in the High Court. The commission and the employee opposed the plea. However, rejecting their pleas, the court said, “TGHRC is a statutory body with limited jurisdiction that cannot
expand its powers beyond the Act’s clear language.”
It held that the Commission exceeded its statutory authority by taking action against the private firm.
