How a Complaint Moves Through the Internal Committee Under the POSH Act

Introduction ↑ Back to Contents

Part 1 of this series explained what the POSH Act requires at a broad level, and Part 2 looked closely at how to constitute a valid Internal Committee. This article picks up exactly where the Committee’s work actually begins – the moment a written complaint lands on its desk.

This guide explains the POSH complaint procedure end to end: how a complaint is filed, how notice and conciliation work, how the Internal Committee inquiry process runs under Section 11, what the inquiry report must contain, and how an appeal under Section 18 is filed.

Clients often ask us the same question in different words: once a complaint is filed, what actually happens next, and by when? The honest answer is that the Act and Rules lay out a fairly detailed procedural map, but very few organisations – and, frankly, very few Internal Committees – follow it with the discipline it demands. Missed timelines, informal hearings without proper notice, and inquiry reports that skip over the reasoning behind a finding are the most common ways an otherwise well-intentioned process gets exposed to challenge later.

This article walks through that procedural map from end to end, step by step, the way we brief a newly constituted Internal Committee before it hears its first case.

Step One: Filing the Complaint ↑ Back to Contents

Under Section 9, an aggrieved woman may make a written complaint to the Internal Committee within three months of the incident, or, where there is a series of incidents, within three months of the last incident. The Committee may extend this period by a further three months, for reasons recorded in writing, where it is satisfied that circumstances prevented the woman from filing earlier – but courts have made clear that this extension cannot itself be stretched further; three months is the outer limit of the extension, not a floor for repeated extensions. Where the woman is unable to file the complaint herself due to physical or mental incapacity, death, or other reasons, her relative, friend, co-worker, or, in appropriate cases, a special educator or psychologist, may file it with her consent where that is possible.

There is no prescribed format the complaint must follow to be valid, though many organisations provide a complaint form to help structure the details – the date, time, and place of the incident, the nature of the conduct, and any supporting material or witnesses. A woman is not disqualified from being heard simply because she did not use the organisation’s form or used plain, informal language to describe what happened.

Step Two: The Internal Committee Takes Cognisance ↑ Back to Contents

Once a complaint is received, the Committee should first satisfy itself that the complaint falls within the statutory timeline and that the allegation, if true, would fall within the definition of sexual harassment under Section 2(n) or the circumstances described in Section 3(2). This is not meant to be a merits-based screening exercise at this stage – the Committee is not deciding whether the complaint is true, only whether it is the kind of complaint the Act empowers it to inquire into. Taking cognisance promptly matters, because every subsequent timeline in the process runs from this point.

Step Three: Notice to the Respondent ↑ Back to Contents

Practice guidance consistently points to a working norm of sharing a copy of the complaint with the respondent within seven working days of the Committee receiving it. The respondent is then expected to file a written reply, along with any supporting documents and a list of witnesses, typically within ten working days of receiving that notice. This notice stage is one of the most procedurally sensitive points in the entire process – the respondent must be given a genuine and fair opportunity to understand the allegation and respond to it, and any shortcut here becomes an obvious ground of challenge later, regardless of what the inquiry eventually finds.

Step Four: Conciliation, If the Aggrieved Woman Requests It ↑ Back to Contents

Before proceeding to a full inquiry, Section 10 allows the Committee to attempt conciliation between the parties – but only at the aggrieved woman’s request, never at the Committee’s own initiative or the employer’s insistence. Two points are worth stressing to every Committee we train: no monetary settlement can form the basis of conciliation, and once a settlement is recorded and its terms communicated to the employer, the Committee is not to conduct any further inquiry into that particular complaint, though it retains a continuing duty to ensure the settlement is actually being complied with. Conciliation is not appropriate for every case, and a Committee should never treat it as the default path simply because it is procedurally easier than a full inquiry.

Step Five: The Inquiry Begins ↑ Back to Contents

Where conciliation is not requested, is not possible, or has failed, the Committee proceeds to an inquiry under Section 11. Where the respondent is an employee, the inquiry proceeds in accordance with the service rules applicable to that respondent; where no such service rules exist, the Committee follows the procedure prescribed under the Rules. The inquiry must ordinarily be completed within ninety days from the date the complaint was received – a timeline that is often underestimated by Committees who have not accounted for scheduling hearings, allowing both parties to respond, and drafting a reasoned report within that window.

Step Six: Hearings and the Principles of Natural Justice ↑ Back to Contents

Both the complainant and the respondent are entitled to be heard and to present their case, and each may be assisted by a person of their choosing, though the Rules generally restrict formal representation by a practising advocate during the inquiry itself. Good practice, reflected in how experienced Committees actually conduct hearings, is to give the complainant, the respondent, and any witnesses reasonable advance notice in writing of each hearing, specifying the date, time, and place, and to maintain the quorum required for a valid hearing throughout – a minimum of three members, including the Presiding Officer, as discussed in Part 2 of this series.

The inquiry is not a criminal trial, and the Committee is not bound by the strict rules of evidence that would apply in a court. It is, however, bound by the core principles of natural justice: the respondent must know the specific allegations against him or her, both parties must have a genuine opportunity to present their side and respond to the other’s evidence, and the Committee must approach the matter without pre-formed conclusions. Failing to follow these basic principles – deciding on the papers alone without a hearing, or relying on evidence never shown to the respondent – is one of the most common grounds on which an inquiry outcome is successfully challenged later.

Step Seven: Interim Relief While the Inquiry Is Pending ↑ Back to Contents

The inquiry timeline does not mean the aggrieved woman has to wait ninety days, or longer, before any protective step is taken. Section 12 allows the Committee, at her written request, to recommend interim measures while the inquiry is still ongoing – for instance, transferring either party, granting her leave of up to three months in addition to her normal entitlement, or restraining the respondent from supervising her work or writing her performance assessments during the pendency of the inquiry. Committees should proactively inform the aggrieved woman of this option at the very outset, rather than waiting for her to ask.

Step Eight: Recording Findings and the Inquiry Report ↑ Back to Contents

On completing the inquiry, the Committee must record its findings with reasons and submit its report to the employer within ten days. A report that simply states a conclusion – “the allegation is proved” or “the allegation is not proved” – without explaining how the Committee weighed the evidence before it, invites exactly the kind of challenge that a properly reasoned report avoids. We advise every Committee we train to treat the report the way a court would treat a judgment: set out the complaint, the respondent’s response, the evidence and testimony considered, the Committee’s reasoning, and only then its finding and recommendation.

Step Nine: The Employer Acts on the Recommendations ↑ Back to Contents

Where the allegation is found to be proved, Section 13 requires the employer to act on the Committee’s recommendations within sixty days of receiving the report. This may include treating the conduct as misconduct under applicable service rules and initiating disciplinary action, which, depending on the severity of the finding, can range from a written apology, warning, reprimand, or censure, to withholding of a promotion or increment, mandatory counselling or community service, or termination from service, consistent with the range of actions contemplated under the Rules. Where the allegation is not proved, no action is taken against the respondent, and the Committee’s finding should be communicated to both parties with the same clarity as it would be had the allegation been proved.

Step Ten: Compensation, Where Recommended ↑ Back to Contents

Alongside disciplinary action, the Committee may recommend that a specific sum be deducted from the respondent’s salary, or otherwise recovered, and paid to the aggrieved woman as compensation. Section 15 sets out the factors relevant to this calculation – the mental trauma, pain, suffering, and emotional distress caused to the aggrieved woman, the loss in her career opportunity as a result of the harassment, medical expenses incurred for physical or psychiatric treatment, the income and financial status of the respondent, and the feasibility of the payment being made in a lump sum or in instalments. There is no fixed statutory formula; the amount is assessed on the specific facts placed before the Committee.

Step Eleven: Appeal Under Section 18 ↑ Back to Contents

Either party – the aggrieved woman or the respondent – who is dissatisfied with the Committee’s recommendations, or with how the employer has implemented them, may appeal to the court or tribunal provided for under the service rules applicable to the respondent, within ninety days of the recommendations. Common grounds for an appeal include a claim that relevant evidence was ignored or misread, that witness testimony was not properly recorded or evaluated, or that the Committee applied an incorrect understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment under the Act. Employers and Committees should proactively inform both parties of this right to appeal at the time the final outcome is communicated, rather than leaving them to discover it independently, and should maintain meticulous records of every submission, piece of evidence, and set of hearing minutes throughout the process, since these records become the foundation of any appeal.

Where Respondents Are Not Employees ↑ Back to Contents

Not every respondent is an employee of the organisation – a client, vendor, or visitor accused of harassment falls outside the Committee’s disciplinary reach, since it cannot terminate or discipline someone who is not on its rolls. In such situations, and particularly where no applicable service rules exist to structure a departmental inquiry, the matter may need to be forwarded toward the appropriate criminal process, and the employer has an independent duty under Section 19 to assist the aggrieved woman if she wishes to pursue that route, including facilitating a complaint under the applicable criminal law where the respondent is not an employee.

Documentation That Should Exist at Every Stage ↑ Back to Contents

A well-run Internal Committee generates a clear paper trail without needing to be reminded to do so: the original written complaint, proof of when and how it was shared with the respondent, the respondent’s written reply, hearing notices sent to all parties, minutes recording attendance and quorum at each sitting, any exhibits or documents relied upon, a record of any interim relief requested and granted, the final reasoned report, proof of when it was shared with the employer and both parties, and, where applicable, proof that the right to appeal was communicated. This is not paperwork for its own sake – it is what allows a fair process to be shown to have been fair, if it is ever tested later.

Practical Tips ↑ Back to Contents

• Calendar every statutory timeline the moment a complaint is received – notice to the respondent, the respondent’s reply, the ninety-day inquiry window, the ten-day reporting window, and the employer’s sixty-day action window – rather than tracking them informally.
• Inform the aggrieved woman of her right to request interim relief under Section 12 at the very first meeting, rather than waiting for her to ask.
• Never treat conciliation as the default or preferred route; it is available only at the aggrieved woman’s request and only in appropriate cases.
• Give written notice of every hearing to all parties with reasonable advance time, specifying date, time, and place.
• Draft the inquiry report as a reasoned document, not a bare conclusion – set out the evidence considered and the reasoning that led to the finding.
• Communicate the right to appeal under Section 18 to both parties in writing at the time the outcome is shared.
• Keep a single, access-controlled file per complaint containing every document generated at each stage of the process.

Practical Compliance Checklist ↑ Back to Contents

• Complaint logged with the date of receipt, and cognisance recorded against the three-month limitation period
• Copy of the complaint shared with the respondent, with proof of delivery, within the working norm of seven working days
• Respondent’s written reply and witness list received and placed on file
• Conciliation offered only where the aggrieved woman requests it, with no monetary settlement recorded as conciliation
• Inquiry hearings conducted with proper advance written notice to all parties and with quorum maintained at every sitting
• Evidence and witness testimony recorded and made available to both parties as appropriate
• Interim relief requests, if any, documented along with the Committee’s response
• Final inquiry report is reasoned, dated, and submitted to the employer within ten days of completing the inquiry
• Employer’s action on the recommendations documented and completed within sixty days
• Compensation calculation, where recommended, documented with reference to the factors under Section 15
• Right of appeal under Section 18 communicated in writing to both parties
• Complete case file maintained, access-restricted in line with Section 16 confidentiality obligations

Common Mistakes We See in Practice ↑ Back to Contents

The single most common defect we see is timeline drift – complaints that sit for weeks before the respondent is notified, hearings scheduled without adequate advance notice, or inquiries that quietly run well past ninety days without any recorded reason. A close second is a Committee treating conciliation as the easier, preferred first option regardless of whether the aggrieved woman actually wants it, which is a clear departure from how Section 10 is meant to operate. We also frequently see inquiry reports that state a conclusion without explaining the reasoning behind it, leaving the employer, and any later appellate authority, with no way to assess whether the finding was properly reached. Finally, many organisations fail to proactively inform either party of their right to appeal under Section 18, leaving them to discover it, if at all, only after the window to exercise it has narrowed considerably.

Conclusion ↑ Back to Contents

A POSH inquiry is only as strong as the discipline with which it follows its own timelines and its own reasoning. The Act gives Internal Committees a clear procedural map from the moment a complaint is filed to the point an appeal window closes – the organisations that treat that map seriously are the ones whose outcomes actually hold up when tested. This concludes the procedural core of our POSH Act series; future articles will look at related themes such as drafting an effective POSH policy and handling complaints that involve remote or hybrid work arrangements.

About Midhati Legal Aid Foundation ↑ Back to Contents

Related Articles ↑ Back to Contents

• Understanding the POSH Act, 2013: A Complete Guide — Part 1 of the POSH Act series.
• Constituting an Effective Internal Committee Under the POSH Act — Part 2 of the series.
• Midhati Blogs — Legal awareness articles from Midhati Legal Aid Foundation.
• About Us — Midhati Legal Aid Foundation, Pune.
• Contact Us — Free initial consultation.

Statutory References ↑ Back to Contents

External References ↑ Back to Contents

• Ministry of Women and Child Development
• India Code — Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013
• Supreme Court of India
• eCourts Services