PAYAL CHAWLA SINGH Vs. COCA-COLA CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a former employee of Coca-Cola India, Inc., the respondent No.2 herein. At the time of joining the respondent company an agreement dated 20.09.1995 was entered into between the petitioner and the respondent No.2, relevant features of which will be noticed in due course. It appears that while in employment in the respondent company, the petitioner had complained of gender discrimination and harassment primarily on account of the service conditions relating to pay and emoluments. The complaint of the petitioner was sought to be redressed by the respondent company by appointing an independent investigator and thereafter through mediation proceedings which did not yield any result. With effect from 28.07.2004, the petitioner's resignation from service in the respondent No.2 company became effective and payment in full and final settlement of her claims had also been tendered and received by the petitioner.

(2.) It appears that on 05.12.2006 the petitioner issued a legal notice to the respondents invoking the arbitration mechanism under the "solutions programme" and claiming compensation against harassment and gender discrimination that she claimed to have suffered during the course of her employment and even after her resignation. While it will not be necessary to go into the detailed facts and circumstances in which the grievances of the petitioner came to be resurrected after her resignation, suffice it will be to notice that an SMS message received around this time by the petitioner from one Mr. Adil Malia, Vice-President, Human Resources of the respondent No.2 company, apparently, had triggered off the aforesaid response of the petitioner. The demand for arbitration made by the petitioner was refused by the respondent on the ground that the "solutions programme" was not applicable to the petitioner and the same was meant only for employees of the first respondent in the United States of America. This has led to the filing of the instant application under Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short the "1996 Act") resulting in the proceedings in question.

(3.) It will be necessary, at this stage, to take note of the details of the "solutions programme" in terms of which the petitioner claims the mechanism for arbitration contained therein to be a part of the contract of employment between her and the respondents.