Workplace Sexual Harassment — Filing a POSH Complaint: ICC, Timelines and Protections
Under the POSH Act, every workplace with 10+ employees must have an Internal Committee (IC). File your written complaint to the IC within 3 months of the incident (extendable by 3 more); the IC must complete its inquiry in 90 days, with recommendations acted on in 60 days. Interim reliefs — transfer, leave up to 3 months — are available during inquiry, and retaliation is itself punishable.
சட்டப்பூர்வ காலக்கெடுக்கள்
- 3 months — File with the IC (from the incident (IC can extend 3 more))
- If sought — Conciliation (optional, no money) (only at complainant's request)
- 90 days — IC inquiry completed (from complaint)
- 60 days — Employer acts on report (from IC recommendations)
படிப்படியாக: என்ன செய்வது
- 1
Write the complaint — specific, dated, evidenced
Six copies to the IC with incidents, dates, witnesses.
விவரங்களைப் பார்க்கவும்
Address a written complaint to the Internal Committee (the POSH policy/notice board names members — an external member and woman presiding officer are mandatory) describing each incident with dates, places, what was said/done, and witnesses; attach messages, emails, call logs. The Act covers quid pro quo demands, hostile-environment conduct, and harassment by anyone at the workplace — colleagues, seniors, clients, vendors — including at offsites and work travel. If writing is difficult, IC members must assist.
- 2
Use the interim protections — they exist for you
Transfer, leave, no-contact — during the inquiry.
விவரங்களைப் பார்க்கவும்
இதை உங்களுக்காகச் செய்கிறோம் — ₹299On request, the IC can recommend interim measures: transfer of you or the respondent, leave up to 3 months (beyond your entitlement), restraining the respondent from supervising/evaluating you, and no-contact directions. Retaliation — termination, demotion, hostile appraisals for complaining — violates the Act and service rules; document any and report it to the IC immediately as a fresh violation.
- 3
The inquiry: your procedural rights
Natural justice, cross-examination via the IC, confidentiality.
விவரங்களைப் பார்க்கவும்
The IC follows service rules/natural justice: both sides heard, evidence and witnesses examined, questions to the other side routed through the IC (no direct confrontation), minimum 3 members present, and strict confidentiality (Section 16 bars publication of identities; breach is penalised). The IC report recommends action — from apology/warning to termination — plus compensation to you (deductible from the respondent's salary), assessed on trauma, career loss and medical costs. Appeals lie to the court/tribunal within 90 days.
- 4
No IC? Small workplace? Criminal overlap?
Local Committee, SHe-Box, and the parallel criminal route.
விவரங்களைப் பார்க்கவும்
Workplaces under 10 employees or complaints against the employer himself go to the district Local Committee (through the District Officer/DM). The central SHe-Box portal routes complaints to the right IC/LC and tracks them; an employer with no IC faces penalties up to ₹50,000 and licence consequences. The criminal law runs in parallel when you choose: Section 354A IPC (now Section 75 BNS) for sexual harassment, with stalking/voyeurism provisions alongside — an FIR does not need the IC's permission, and the IC route does not bar it.
செலவுகள் & என்ன எதிர்பார்க்கலாம்
- Free
IC / Local Committee complaint
Statutory machinery inside the workplace
- Free
SHe-Box filing
Central portal, routes + tracks
- ₹299
Confidential consultation
Strategy, drafting help, retaliation response
- ₹199
Complaint drafting support
Structured, dated incident complaint
Malicious-complaint penalties in the Act require proven malice — inability to prove an allegation is expressly NOT malice (Section 14). Genuine complainants should not be deterred by that clause.
இந்தப் பிரச்சினைக்கான இலவச வடிவங்கள்
அடிக்கடி கேட்கப்படும் கேள்விகள்
The incident was 5 months ago. Can I still complain?
Yes — the IC can extend the 3-month window by another 3 months for reasons recorded (fear, ongoing harassment, not knowing the process all qualify). Beyond 6 months, the Local Committee/courts have shown flexibility in continuing-harassment situations; and the criminal route has its own longer limitations. File with an explanation rather than not filing.
What if the harasser is the founder/MD — the IC reports to him?
Complaints against the employer go to the district Local Committee, not the IC — precisely for this conflict. SHe-Box routes it correctly. IC members' independence obligations and the external member requirement also exist for the senior-respondent problem; escalate to the LC if the IC is visibly captured.
Will my identity stay confidential?
Section 16 prohibits publishing or disclosing the identities of complainant, respondent and witnesses, and inquiry contents — with penalties for breach. Internally, information flows on need-to-know within the IC process. Leaks by colleagues/management are themselves violations to record and report.
Can men file POSH complaints?
The POSH Act's complainant is defined as an "aggrieved woman". Men facing workplace sexual harassment use service rules/HR policy (many companies extend gender-neutral internal policies), criminal law (assault/insult provisions in the BNS), and civil remedies. Company policy routes are worth checking first — most large employers now run gender-neutral processes.
I complained and was fired two weeks later. What are my options?
Retaliation timing is powerful evidence: report it to the IC/LC as victimisation, and challenge the termination (see our wrongful-termination guide) with the POSH complaint as the mala fide backdrop. Courts and labour forums treat post-complaint terminations with deep suspicion — preserve the timeline meticulously.
தொடர்புடைய வழிகாட்டிகள்
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இந்தப் பக்கம் பொது தகவலுக்காக மட்டுமே வழக்கமான சட்ட நடைமுறையை விளக்குகிறது. இது சட்ட ஆலோசனை அல்ல. உங்கள் சூழ்நிலைக்குத் தகுதியான வழக்கறிஞரை அணுகவும்.