Women and Law is a dedicated paper or elective in many Indian LL.B. courses, drawing together constitutional, criminal, labour and family law protections. These notes cover the core statutory framework.
Constitutional Framework
Article 14 (equality), Article 15(3) (permits the State to make special provisions for women and children, the constitutional basis for affirmative protective legislation), and Article 16 (equality of opportunity in public employment) together ground gender-equality jurisprudence in India.
Protection Against Sexual Harassment
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) followed the Supreme Court’s guidelines in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), requiring Internal Committees at workplaces with 10 or more employees and Local Committees at the district level for smaller establishments and unorganised-sector complaints.
Domestic Violence
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 provides a civil remedy (protection orders, residence orders, monetary relief, custody orders) against physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse, covering women in a “domestic relationship,” not limited to marriage.
Criminal Law Protections
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, enacted after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, expanded the definition of rape and introduced new offences (acid attack, stalking, voyeurism) now carried into the BNS, 2023 (Sections 63-79 covering offences against women).
Maternity and Workplace Rights
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (amended 2017) provides 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two children; the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (now subsumed into the Code on Wages, 2019) mandates equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.
Key exam questions to prepare
- Explain the POSH Act’s Internal Committee requirement and its origin in Vishaka.
- Reliefs available under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
- Key changes introduced by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
More: all LL.B. subject notes
Useful books for this topic
- Bare acts of the new criminal laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA)
- Code of Civil Procedure bare act
- Legal drafting and conveyancing books
- Constitution of India (coat pocket edition)
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