According to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, during the last five years, 11 cases of sexual harassment have been reported in the armed forces, where the strength of women officers remains minuscule.

Currently, 5,137 women officers serve in the armed forces. They include 4,101 in the army, 784 in the air force and 252 in the navy.

A recent example is the case of Captain Poonam Kaur of the Army Supply Corps (ASC). In July 2008, she alleged that three officers of her unit had mentally and sexually harassed her and confined her illegally when she resisted their advances.

The army then constituted a court of inquiry whereby all three officers denied the allegations and she was found guilty on at least 20 counts, including levelling false charges against her senior officers.

The apex court has succinctly laid down that any inquiry team investigating a sexual harassment case should be headed by a woman, more than half the members should be women and there should be third party participation in the inquiry like that of a non-profit organisation.

However, the inquiry into Kaur's allegations was presided over by Brigadier R.P. Attri of the army's Western Command headquarters. Among the three members of the inquiry, only one was female and there was no representative from an NGO in the panel.

The Guardian Foundation has moved an application on the army in the National Commission for Women against 'violation of guidelines and norms prescribed by the Supreme Court while dealing with cases of sexual harassment at workplace'.

(Ritu Sharma can be contacted at ritu.s@ians.in)