Invoking the principle that justice must not only be “done” but must also be “seen to be done”, the Tripura High Court recently set aside an inquiry held by a government research body that had rejected a woman employee’s sexual harassment allegations against her colleague. Chief Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Biswajit Palit held that the inquiry suffered from a “real likelihood of bias” since all committee members were subordinate in rank to the accused officer. The high court further observed that the principle of “real likelihood of bias” is firmly recognised in Indian law and applies with full force to workplace harassment inquiries. “This important principle, which flows from the maxim ‘Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done, has also been violated by the respondent Nos. 1-5 (state, government research body, officer and others). This also vitiates their decision,” the May 7 order read.…