Justice G.S. Patel laid down a detailed code to shield the identities of parties and witnesses in sexual-harassment litigation — anonymised cause-titles, orders delivered in chambers or in-camera, and a bar on media or social-media disclosure without leave. The judgment built the working confidentiality framework for POSH cases under s.16 of the 2013 Act.
The Bombay High Court set aside a Section 17 order that had excused a party from producing the very contract said to breach a joint-venture non-compete, holding that a confidentiality clause inside an allegedly offending agreement cannot immunise that agreement from disclosure. A digest of the facts, the holding on confidentiality versus court-directed disclosure, the Section 17 set-aside and remand, and what it means for arbitration practice.