New Delhi: Justice Sujata Manohar, who was the only woman on the three-judge Supreme Court bench that laid down the Vishakha guidelines to tackle workplace harassment, told the Indian Express there is a need to rethink the guidelines to include incidents of harassment from the past.The Vishakha guidelines were formulated in 1997, after women’s organisations filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), and held workplaces accountable for harassment. A bench comprising Justices Manohar, J.S. Verma and B.N. Kirpal delivered the verdict that provided the base for prevention, prohibition and redressal of workplace harassment.In an exclusive interview with the Indian Express, she suggested that new norms can be framed and wanted the penal provisions to be reviewed. She said the guidelines were formed to address issues of sexual harassment in the present.“We had not considered (what to do with) incidents of sexual harassment that took place in the past — like those that have now been reported. It is time we need to rethink how to deal with sexual harassment, especially in cases, where the incident has taken place in the past. In these circumstances, the Vishakha guidelines especially need to be re-examined with regard to the preventive and remedial measures for the woman,” Justice Manohar to the Indian Express.Also Read: ‘Naming and Shaming’ Can’t Change the System: Justice Sujata Manohar on #MeTooShe talked about the possibility of grading degrees of sexual harassment and how to deal with the different grades. This process would require deliberation, which should include sociologists and not just legal experts, she opined.While there is not limitation on allegations dating back several years, Justice Manohar said the problem – from a legal standpoint – would be availability of evidence to prove the allegations. The challenge before the courts would be to determine the truth only through cross-examination, she said.Suggesting the possibility of reviewing certain sections of the Indian Penal Code, the retired Supreme Court judge said Section 509 of the IPC (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) needs to be made “more specific”.All levels of the judiciary need to be sensitised to equip them to handle cases of sexual harassment, she told the Indian Express. We have courses during judicial training. But we have to explicitly sensitise the judiciary in handling these cases. So what we require is a specialised sensitisation. This should be done across the board for all the judges,” she said.Justice Manohar was unsure if the National Commission for Women (NCW) would be able to contribute to the redressal process. She said the commission was formed only as an advisory body and cannot contribute to an adjudicating process.Also Read: A Retired IAS Officer on How the #MeToo Movement Can Use Her Case Against K.P.S. GillSpeaking to Fress Press Journal earlier in the week, Justice Manohar said women should not restrict themselves to social media when talking about sexual harassment cases. “No purpose will be served if woman limit themselves only to social media. They have the option to approach the police, instead of the social media,” she said.Bhanwari Devi caseThe PIL which resulted in the Vishakha judgment came in the context of alleged gang rape of Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan. She claimed to have been gang raped after she was successful in preventing a one-year-old girl from being married. Questions were raised over the police’s perceived insincere treatment of both Devi and the case. The accused rapists were then acquitted.A group of women organisations filed the PIL. The judgment was crucial in the formulation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.