Bhanwari Devi Case

Bhanwari Devi, a government-employed saathin (village-level social worker) in Rajasthan, was allegedly gang-raped in 1992, reportedly in reprisal for her work opposing a child marriage in her village as part of a state programme.

Bhanwari Devi, a survivor who continued to speak publicly about the case in the years that followed.

The case went to trial in a Rajasthan sessions court.

Accounts describe difficulties Bhanwari Devi faced in the investigative process.

In 1995, a trial court acquitted the accused; the acquittal drew criticism from women's organisations.

Women's rights groups filed a public interest litigation (Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan) before the Supreme Court, arguing that the state had failed to protect a working woman.

The Supreme Court, rather than the government, ultimately issued the response — see the Vishaka Guidelines entry.

The case is directly credited with prompting the 1997 Vishaka Guidelines, India's first binding framework on workplace sexual harassment, later codified in the POSH Act, 2013.

The criminal case itself did not result in convictions of the accused.

Referenced as the origin case of India's workplace sexual-harassment law.