1

2023 INSC 927 REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 1224 OF 2017

INITIATIVES FOR INCLUSION FOUNDATION ...APPELLANT(S)

& ANR.

VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ...RESPONDENT(S)

JUDGMENT

S. RAVINDRA BHAT, J.

1. The writ-petitioner organisation, approaches this court under Article 32 of

the Constitution, seeking issuance of appropriate orders directing the
respondents [Union government, and each State/UT government – collectively
referred to as ‘respondent-state’] to take steps for implementing the provisions
of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
Act, 2013 read with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 [hereafter “Act/POSH Act”
or “Act” and “Rules/POSH Rules” respectively]. The detailed claims 1 are
extracted verbatim:

“1. To issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or an appropriate writ,

order or direction as may be necessary:-
a. Directing all the Respondents, i.e. Union of India, States and UTs to
implement the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal)
Rules, 2013 without any further delay;
b. Directing all the States/UTs to notify and appoint the District Officers as
per Section 5 of the Act;

1 The following abbreviations have been used in the writ petition, as well as in this judgment hereafter: “LCC”
or “LC” mean ‘Local Committee’ (as per Act 23/2016 which amended ‘local complaints committee’ to ‘local
committee’); and “ICC” or “IC” to mean ‘Internal Complaints Committee’.
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c. Directing all the States/UTs to constitute LCCs in all the districts as per
Section 6 & 7 of the Act;
d. Directing all the States/UTs to appoint Nodal Officers as per Section 6 of
the Act;
e. Directing all the States/UTs to constitute ICCs as per Section 4 of the Act
in all the workplaces defined in Section 2(o) of the Act;
f. Directing all the States/UTs to ensure reporting and collection of Annual
Compliance Reports from all workplaces by all the District Officers of
respective States as per Section 21 and 22 of the Act;
g. Directing all the States/UTs to ensure that the Annual Compliance Reports
collected by District Office[r]s, containing information on the number of
cases filed and their disposal, are consolidated and the reports are
published and put in public domain;
h. Directing all the States/UTs to give due publicity to the Acts and Rules in
all the Districts – block, talukas, tehsil in rural or tribal area and ward or
municipality in the urban area and that awareness activities will be
organized to advance the understanding of the provisions of this Act;
i. Directing all the States/UTs that the gist of important provisions will be
displayed at all working places in all the States/UTs.
j. Directing Respondent No.1 to frame rules and/or directions as provided in
Section 29 of the Act, to clarify role of Districts in collecting annual
compliance reports from ICCs and LCCs, role of District Officers in
collecting fines for non-compliance of the Act and appropriate authority
for collection of fines;
2. Issue any other writ/order/direction as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit
and proper in the circumstances of the case.”

2. Over the course of many hearings, this court, with the able assistance and
cooperation of learned counsels involved in the matter – on both sides –
undertook an exercise to delineate lacunae in the implementation of the Act, on
ground. Further, in compliance with orders of this court, numerous states 2 filed
affidavits highlighting steps taken by their respective governments in
furtherance of implementing the Act and Rules in letter and spirit.

3. On 20.02.2023, learned counsels addressed this court on certain questions

regarding the setting up of Nodal Cells in the concerned Central Union Ministry
and also with respect to setting up of Local Committee and appointment of

2 Including Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa, Puducherry, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Karnataka,
Manipur, Haryana, Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh UT, Andaman and
Nicobar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, NCT Delhi, Bihar,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Tripura.
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Nodal Officers in all districts of the country. This judgment pertains to these
specific issues and the suggestions made in this regard.

4. Recently, this court in another bench composition, in Aureliano

Fernandes v. State of Goa & Ors.3 had occasion to pass directions regarding the
implementation of the POSH Act. These directions are comprehensive with
regards to seeking compliance of the Act by the appropriate government [as
defined under Section 2(b)] and its many departments, authorities, institutions,
etc.; the High Courts and the courts it supervises; specific non-state
authorities/organisations such as – statutory bodies of professionals (at the apex
and state level), universities and other educational institutions, hospitals/nursing
homes, etc. It specifically directed NALSA and SLSAs, and the National
Judicial Academy and State Judicial Academies, to develop modules for
workshops and awareness programmes, in their capacities. Given that the
directions passed overlap with the scope of the present writ petition that is
before this court, they merit emphatic reiteration:

“77. To fulfil the promise that the PoSH Act holds out to working women
all over the country, it is deemed appropriate to issue the following
directions:
(i) The Union of India, all State Governments and Union Territories are
directed to undertake a timebound exercise to verify as to whether all the
concerned Ministries, Departments, Government organizations,
authorities, Public Sector Undertakings, institutions, bodies, etc. have
constituted ICCs/LCs/ICs, as the case may be and that the
composition of the said Committees are strictly in terms of the
provisions of the PoSH Act.
(ii) It shall be ensured that necessary information regarding the
constitution and composition of the ICCs/LCs/ICs, details of the e-mail
IDs and contact numbers of the designated person(s), the procedure
prescribed for submitting an online complaint, as also the relevant rules,
regulations and internal policies are made readily available on the
website of the concerned
Authority/Functionary/Organisation/Institution/Body, as the case may be.
The information furnished shall also be updated from time to time.

3 Judgment dated 12.05.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 2482/2014.

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(iii) A similar exercise shall be undertaken by all the Statutory

bodies of professionals at the Apex level and the State level (including
those regulating doctors, lawyers, architects, chartered accountants, cost
accountants, engineers, bankers and other professionals), by Universities,
colleges, Training Centres and educational institutions and by government
and private hospitals/nursing homes.
(iv) Immediate and effective steps shall be taken by the
authorities/managements/employers to familiarize members of the
ICCs/LCs/ICs with their duties and the manner in which an inquiry ought
to be conducted on receiving a complaint of sexual harassment at the
workplace, from the point when the complaint is received, till the inquiry
is finally concluded and the Report submitted.
(v) The authorities/management/employers shall regularly conduct
orientation programmes, workshops, seminars and awareness
programmes to upskill members of the ICCs/LCs/ICs and to educate
women employees and women's groups about the provisions of the Act, the
Rules and relevant regulations.
(vi) The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the State Legal
Services Authorities (SLSAs) shall develop modules to conduct workshops
and organize awareness programmes to sensitize
authorities/managements/employers, employees and adolescent groups
with the provisions of the Act, which shall be included in their annual
calendar.
(vii) The National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academies
shall include in their annual calendars, orientation programmes, seminars
and workshops for capacity building of members of the ICCs/LCs/ICs
established in the High Courts and District Courts and for drafting
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to conduct an inquiry under the
Act and Rules.
(viii) A copy of this judgment shall be transmitted to the Secretaries of all
the Ministries, Government of India who shall ensure
implementation of the directions by all the concerned Departments,
Statutory Authorities, Institutions, Organisations etc. under the
control of the respective Ministries. A copy of the judgment shall also be
transmitted to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories
who shall ensure strict compliance of these directions by all the concerned
Departments. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretaries of the
Ministries, Government of India and the Chief
Secretaries of every State/Union Territory to ensure implementation of the
directions issued.
(ix) The Registry of the Supreme Court of India shall transmit a
copy of this judgment to the Director, National Judicial Academy, Member
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Secretary, NALSA, Chairperson, Bar Council of India and the Registrar

Generals of all the High Courts. The Registry shall also transmit a
copy of this judgment to the Medical Council of India,
Council of Architecture, Institute of Chartered Accountants,
Institute of Company Secretaries and the Engineering Council of India for
implementing the directions issued.
(x) Member-Secretary, NALSA is requested to transmit a copy of this
judgment to the Member Secretaries of all the State Legal Services
Authorities. Similarly, the Registrar Generals of the State High Courts
shall transmit a copy of this judgment to the Directors of the State Judicial
Academies and the Principal District Judges/District Judges of their
respective States.
(xi) The Chairperson, Bar Council of India and the Apex Bodies
mentioned in sub-para (ix) above, shall in turn, transmit a copy of this
judgment to all the State Bar Councils and the State Level Councils, as the
case may be.
78. The Union of India and all States/UTs are directed to file their
affidavits within eight weeks for reporting compliances. List after eight
weeks.”

5. In addition to these detailed directions, a few aspects relating to the

effective implementation of the POSH Act highlighted in the present writ
petition, require our attention.

Authorities responsible for the implementation of the POSH Act

6. The POSH Act is comprehensive, and a code in itself, for prevention,

punishment and redressal of sexual harassment complaints. It takes the remit of
the remedy envisaged in the Vishaka Guidelines beyond the State and public
functionaries, to a larger, much wider scope of ‘employee’4 and ‘employer’5
4 Section 2(f) reads as follows:
“(f) "employee" means a person employed at a workplace for any work on regular, temporary, ad hoc
or daily wage basis, either directly or through an agent, including a contractor, with or, without the knowledge
of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, or working on a voluntary basis or otherwise,
whether the terms of employment are express or implied and includes a co-worker, a contract worker,
probationer, trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name”
5 Section 2(g) reads as follows:
“(g) "employer" means—
(i) in relation to any department, organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution,
office, branch or unit of the appropriate Government or a local authority, the head of that department,
organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution, office, branch or unit or such other officer as
the appropriate Government or the local authority, as the case may be, may by an order specify in this behalf;
(ii) in any workplace not covered under sub-clause (i), any person responsible for the management,
supervision and control of the workplace.
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than any other legislation. As a result, it comes too, with its own challenges for
effective implementation. Anticipating this, the Act provides for a tiered-model
for its functioning, and in turn for monitoring of its implementation.

7. Each employer is legally mandated to constitute an ICC under Section 4.

To address the gaps where there is no ICC (i.e., for those working in a
workplace that employs less than 10 workers or where the employer themselves
are the respondent), the Act provides for an LC in each district, which is to be
constituted by the District Officer under Section 6. The District Officer is also
tasked with designating a nodal officer in each block, taluka, and tehsil in rural
or tribal area, and ward or municipality in the urban area, to receive complaints
and forward the same to the concerned LC. 6 These nodal officers are meant to
be the first point of contact in that sense, especially in situations where there is
no ICC constituted. The ICC or LC after conducting inquiry (or recording
settlement7 if such is the case), has to in its inquiry report recommend to the
employer, or District Officer, respectively, what action is to be taken against the
respondent (or in the situation of a false/malicious case 8, against the
complainant), in each case.9

8. The Petitioner has pointed out that there is a lack of clarity as to the
District Officer’s role in relation to the annual reports contemplated under
Section 21 and 22. A reading of these provisions together offers some clarity:
both the ICC and LC prepare annual reports and submit it either directly (in the
case of the LC) or through the employer (here, the ICC), to the District
Officer.10 While Section 21(1) does not mention the ICC report being forwarded
Explanation. —For the purposes of this sub-clause “management” includes the person or board or
committee responsible for formulation and administration of polices for such organisation;
(iii) in relation to workplace covered under sub-clauses (i) and (ii), the person discharging contractual
obligations with respect to his or her employees;
(iv) in relation to a dwelling place or house, a person or a household who employs or benefits from the
employment of domestic worker, irrespective of the number, time period or type of such worker employed, or the
nature of the employment or activities performed by the domestic worker;”
6 Section 6(2) of the POSH Act.
7 Section 10 of the POSH Act.
8 Section 14 of the POSH Act and Rule 10 of the Rules.
9 Section 13 of the POSH Act and Rule 9 of the Rules.
10 Section 21(1) of the POSH Act.
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to the District Officer, Section 22 right after, states that the employer is
mandated to mention in its report the number of cases lodged and disposed (if
any), and even in the absence of a report it must intimate the numbers to the
District Officer.11 Further, it is the District Officer, in turn, who submits a brief
report to the State Government.12

9. The appropriate government [defined under Section 2(b)], is responsible

at the last level, to monitor the implementation of this Act and maintain data on
the number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of all cases of sexual
harassment at workplace.13 It is also obligated to take measures to publicise the
Act.14 Another built-in safeguard in the framework is that the appropriate
government is empowered to call for information and inspection of records15 -
wherein it may call upon an employer or District Officer to furnish in writing
any information relating to sexual harassment it may require, or produce any
record required by an officer authorised to carry out an inspection.

10. What is wholly apparent from this outline of the scheme of the Act, is that
the role of the District Officer, is pivotal; they are responsible for numerous
aspects in the implementation of the Act. It is where the buck stops, so to say, in
terms of coordination and accountability relating to the POSH Act. Even in
terms of payment and fees – the District Officer is responsible for payment of
allowances to the Chairman and members of the LC 16, which it receives from
the agency set up by the State Government (ref: Section 8 of the Act).
Interestingly, the District Officer also performs a duty in terms of enforcement;
under Section 13, if the respondent in any case fails to pay any sum so directed,
the ICC/LC can forward the order for recovery of the sum as an arrear of land
revenue to the concerned District Officer.17

11 Section 22 of the POSH Act.

12 Section 21(2) of the POSH Act.
13 Section 23 of the POSH Act.
14 Section 24 of the POSH Act.
15 Section 25 of the POSH Act.
16 Rule 5 of the POSH Rules
17 Second proviso to Section 13(3) of the POSH Act.
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11. Section 5 stipulates that:

“5. The appropriate Government may notify a District Magistrate or

Additional District Magistrate or the Collector or Deputy Collector as a
District Officer. for every District to exercise powers or discharge
functions under this Act.”

And Chapter VII, titled ‘Duties and Powers of the District Officer’ states under
Section 20:

“20. The District Officer shall, -

(a) monitor the timely submission of reports furnished by the Local
Committee;
(b) take such measures as may be necessary for engaging non-
governmental organisations for creation of awareness on sexual
harassment and the rights of the women.”

While the language used in Section 5 is ‘may’, the context of the statute – as
elaborated above, and specifically Section 20 (which uses ‘shall’ and obligates
the District Officer to perform pivotal functions) makes it quite clear that the
District Officer, is the most important functionary in the system, tasked with
keeping the redressal and monitoring framework both intact, and smoothly
running. In one of the first cases on the interpretation of ‘may’, this court in
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Jogendra Singh18 held:

“There is no doubt that the word "'may" generally does not mean ‘must’
or ‘shall’. But it is well settled that the word "may" is capable of meaning
"must" or ‘shall’ in the light of the context. It is also clear that where a
discretion is conferred upon a public authority coupled with an obligation,
the word ‘may’ which denotes discretion should be construed to mean a
command. Sometimes, the legislature uses the word "may" out of
deference to the high status of the authority on whom the power and the
obligation are intended to be conferred and imposed. In the present case,
it is the context which is decisive.”

Treating Section 5 as directory, would leave a gaping hole in the otherwise

clearly delineated workflow and redressal mechanism, and the efficacy of this
legislation, as a result, falls flat.

18 [1964] SCR (2) 197

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12. We have perused the replies/affidavits filed by numerous states pursuant

to receiving notice; seen together, they are marked by a lack of uniformity in
terms of implementation of the Act. Numerous states have tried to force-fit the
institutional requirements of the Act, within their existing bureaucratic
frameworks (for instance, some states have assigned its implementation to
departments other than their Women and Child Development Ministry, like the
departments dealing with Social Welfare, Social Security, Legislative Affairs,
etc.). The affidavit filed by the petitioner in response to the replies by the States,
highlights the many lacunae and lack of uniformity in the implementation of the
POSH Act, by various state governments. District Officers were in most states
notified after notice of this writ petition was served on them, and even among
those states that have taken action – they have simply notified a specific post as
District Officer, without providing any specific details of the officers, their
contact information, etc. Most states have failed to provide documentation on
constitution of LCs, and even those who have, many have not constituted one in
each district. Only a handful of states have provided any details of ‘nodal
officers’– but even among these, the nodal officers are specific posts notified,
and not individuals at every taluka, ward, municipality, etc. as contemplated
under Section 6(2). The information on annual reports is perhaps most
alarming– only three have provided a consolidated report (relying on differing
sources, or just the LCs). Each State, has notified a different Ministry as the
‘nodal’ ministry for implementation of the Act – some have notified the Social
Welfare Ministry or its allied departments, while others rely on the Women and
Child Development department.

13. The general thrust of the affidavits, especially that of the Union of India –
has been to highlight the generation of awareness through a massive publicity
campaign and issuance of advisories, publication of handbooks, etc. However, it
is quite plainly clear that though the generation of awareness is necessary, if a
woman suffers sexual harassment at the workplace – the framework for
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redressal has to in fact exist. The failure to notify district officers specifically,
has a snowballing effect on appointment of the LCs and nodal officers, in
addition to other aspects. The complaint mechanism, and larger framework - no
matter how effective, remain inadequate if the authorities set out in the Act, are
not duly appointed/notified. Therefore, the State/UT government must ensure
that every district, at all times has a notified District Officer; in case of vacancy
caused by retirement, or any other reason, it must be duly remedied, to enable
smooth transition between officers, and ensure that there is always someone in-
charge of this position. Furthermore, effort has to be undertaken to orient, train
and sensitise these district officers, with regards to the provisions of the Act and
Rules, with an emphasis on their roles and obligations. Similar range of
activities must be conducted for the nodal officers appointed and LCs
constituted by each district officer.

Operationalizing the Act for the unorganized sector

14. This Act is a pioneering legislation with a ‘horizontal’ mechanism and

rights framework. A look at some of the definitions - ‘employee’ 19,
‘employer’20, and ‘workplace’21 drives this point home and demonstrates the
scope of its horizontal application. Further, the inclusion of definitions of
‘domestic worker’, and ‘unorganized sector’ in Section 2, which though not
expressly referred to in the substantive content of the Act, is telling:

“(e) "domestic worker" means a woman who is employed to do the

household work in any household for remuneration whether in cash or
kind, either directly or through any agency on a temporary, permanent,
part time or full time basis, but does not include any member of the family
of the employer;”

“(p) “unorganised sector” in relation to a workplace means an

enterprise owned by individuals or self-employed workers and engaged in
the production or sale of goods or providing service of any kind
whatsoever, and where the enterprise employs workers, the number of
such workers is less than ten.”

19 Section 2(f), extracted above in fn 4.

20 Section 2(g) extracted above in fn 5.
21 Section 2(o) of the Act.
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The inclusion of these definitions, has greatly expanded the scope of this
Act’s application. An aggrieved domestic worker, thus, can take action
against a person residing in the house they work at, using the LC framework;
see Section 2(o) which defines ‘workplace’ and includes under sub-clause
(vi) “a dwelling place or house”:

“(o) “workplace” includes—

(i) any department, organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise,
institution, office, branch or unit which is established, owned, controlled
or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly
by the appropriate Government or the local authority or a Government
company or a corporation or a co-operative society;
(ii) any private sector organisation or a private venture, undertaking,
enterprise, institution, establishment, society, trust, non-governmental
organisation, unit or service provider carrying on commercial,
professional, vocational, educational, entertainmental, industrial, health
services or financial activities including production, supply, sale,
distribution or service;
(iii) hospitals or nursing homes;
(iv) any sports institute, stadium, sports complex or competition or games
venue, whether residential or not used for training, sports or other
activities relating thereto;
(v) any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of
employment including transportation by the employer for undertaking
such journey;
(vi) a dwelling place or a house”

15. Consider next, the composition and role of the LC – which is the
foundational body in the district, especially so for the unorganized sector. This
committee is headed by a nominated chairperson who is an eminent woman in
the field of social work and committed to the cause of women; one member is
nominated from the women working in a block/taluka/tehsil (rural) or
ward/municipality (urban); two more, of which at least one has to be a woman
to be nominated amongst NGOs or associations committed to cause of women
or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment. Further one
must be with legal background/knowledge of the law, and one must belong to a
Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Other Backward Class. 22 An LC is

22 As per Section 6 and 7 of the Act.

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empowered with powers equivalent to a civil court23 to conduct inquiry, issue

summons, enforce attendance, etc., which is reflective of its importance in the
framework. The inclusion of nominees from such NGOs is also helpful, because
in a context where LCs may convey a sense of formality, women find it easier to
approach local NGOs; this is one of the finding in a 2015 International Labour
Organization (ILO) report.24 However as pointed out, there is no avenue in the
law for these NGOs to register or pursue the matter on behalf of such
consenting women. Thus, the spreading of awareness relating to LCs and
dispelling the air of formality, should form a priority of the highest level State,
that seeks to implement the Act.

16. Lastly, it is relevant to note a major limitation of the Act, which depends on
the Union Government to disburse funds to the States, which using an agency, can
transfer the same to the district officer. 25 Similarly Section 20 and 24, which
obligate the district officer and appropriate government to take steps to publicise
the Act, is limited by Section 24 which states that:

“The appropriate Government may, subject to the availability of

financial and other resources, —
(a) develop relevant information, education, communication and training
materials, and organise awareness programmes, to advance the
understanding of the public of the provisions of this Act providing for
protection against sexual harassment of woman at workplace;
(b) formulate orientation and training programmes for the members of
the [Local Committee].”
(emphasis
supplied)

In the absence of a delineated budget to pay the concerned officers and conduct
events for awareness and training, various LCs are rendered infructuous or
remain vacant.26 Therefore, the requirement of setting the budget for the

23 Section 11 of the Act.

24 ILO, Insights into working conditions in India’s garment (2015)
<https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/insights-into-working-conditions-in-indias-garment-industry/>
(accessed on 17.10.2023).
25 Section 8 of the Act.
26 See NHRC’s report on status and Functioning of Local Complaints Committees under the Act (2019)
https://nhrc.nic.in/sites/default/files/Status_and_Functioning_of_Local_Complaints_Committees_under_the_Se
xual_Harassment.pdf (accessed on 17.10.2023).
 13

implementation of this Act, at each district level, and thereafter state-level, to

ascertain disbursal of grants from the Union Government.

17. In this manner, the Act contemplates a wide scope for both the aggrieved
woman, and the respondent, and place a public duty on the employers, or LCs
as the case may be, to ensure prevention, prohibition and redressal of
complaints of sexual harassment. Operationalizing LCs and ensuring their
effectiveness, remains the key to making these remedies accessible to the
unorganized sector.

Discussion on specific directions sought by the petitioners

18. The directions prayed for in the present writ petition, can be traced
directly to the obligations and duties set out in the express provisions of this
Act:

Provision under Public functionary in

Prayer
the Act charge/ obligation on
(a) Implement the provisions of the - Union of India, State
POSH Act and Rules governments, and union
territories
(b) Notify and appoint district Section 5 State and UT
officers governments
(c) Appointing LCs in each district Section 6 and 7 District Officer
(d) Appointing nodal officers Section 6(2) District Officer
(e) Constituting ICCs in all Section 4 To be constituted by
workplaces as defined under s. each employer
2(o)
(f) Ensure reporting and collection Section 21 and 22 District Officers
of annual compliance reports
from all workplaces
(g) Annual compliance reports are Section 23 Appropriate government
consolidated and the reports are
published in the public domain
(h) Publicising the Act and Rules Section 24; Appropriate
and organize awareness Section 20(2) government; District
activities to advance Officer to take measures
understanding of the provisions for engaging NGOs for
of the Act creation of awareness
(i) Gist of important provisions Section 19(b) Duty of each employer
will be displayed at all working
places
(j) Framing of rules and or Section 29 Union Government
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direction to clarify aspects not

covered under the prevailing
Rules

19. Prayer (g) directing the State/UT governments to ensure that the annual
compliance reports collected by the District Officers are consolidated and the
reports are published in the public domain, requires some consideration. Section
23 of the Act reads as follows:

“23. Appropriate Government to monitor implementation and maintain

data.- The appropriate government shall monitor the implementation of
this Act and maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of in
respect of all cases of sexual harassment at workplaces.”

While the Act does not contemplate such publication in the public domain, there
is certainly merit in using this anonymised data on cases lodged and disposed, to
consolidate statistics, that will reflect efficacy of the implementation of the Act.
Therefore, while there is no need for such an express direction by this court, the
Central Government, and State Government, as the case may be, in the interest
of transparency and good governance may consider to make these statistics
public– the access to which, would certainly have a positive impact on various
stakeholders. This in turn will also strengthen the monitoring of the
implementation of this Act.

20. Prayer (j) seeking the framing of rules and/or directions as provided in
Section 29 of the Act is limited to three lacunae pointed out by the petitioner: (i)
to clarify the role of districts in collecting the annual compliance reports from
ICCs and LCs; (ii) role of district officers in collecting fines for non-compliance
of the Act; and (iii) identify the appropriate authority for collection of fines.
This court has considered the Rules, as they stand, closely; there is certainly
some gaps. On point (i), this court’s discussion in paragraph 8 clarifies the
position – although the required amendment explicitly laying this out in the
Rules, would be appropriate. Points (ii) and (iii) are cause for real concern.
 15

21. Section 26(1) of the Act defines penalty to be imposed on the employer
for failing to: constitute the ICC under Section 4, conduct inquiries under
Section 13 and 14, submit annual compliance reports as per Section 22, or
contravention of any other provision of the Act or Rules. Contravention of the
Act, attracts a penalty of ₹ 50,000. However, the Rules are woefully silent on
the reporting authority actually responsible for taking note of the non-
compliance, and the public authority empowered to collect the said fine27. Given
the scheme of the Act, it would be recommended that the District Officer itself,
be made this authority – however, presently since they are not empowered to
take appropriate action against employers for non-compliance of the Act, it
renders the framework rather toothless. Similarly under Section 26(2) which
provides further penalty (including cancellation of business license or
withdrawal of renewal or approval of cancellation of registration by the
government or local authority required for carrying on their business/activity)
on an employer for continuous violations of the same provisions – does not
mention the authority under the Act responsible for carrying out this function.

Conclusion and Directions

22. Having regard to the above discussion, it is appropriate for this court to
issue the following directions (under the relevant heads) to ensure the effective
implementation of the POSH Act, and render it workable:

A. Coordination between Union Government and State/UT

Governments
i. The Women and Child Development Ministry of every State/UT,
through its Principal Secretary, should consider identifying a ‘nodal

27 The other provision which contemplates penalty, is Section 17 [Penalty for publication or making known
contents of complaint and inquiry proceedings] which states:
“17. Where any person entrusted with the duty to handle or deal with the complaint, inquiry or any
recommendations or action to be taken under the provisions of this Act, contravenes the provisions of section
16, he shall be liable for penalty in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the said
person or where no such service rules exist, in such manner as may be prescribed.”
Rule 12 of the POSH Rules has set the fine to be Rs. 5000, which is to be collected by the employer.
 16

person’ within the Department, to oversee and aid in coordination as

contemplated under the POSH Act. This person would also be able to
coordinate with the Union Government on matters relating to this Act
and its implementation.
ii. Each State/UT Government is to submit a consolidated report of its
compliance with the below directions to the Union Government within
8 weeks. The latter is hereby directed to consolidate the various
reports, identify any lapses in the compliance by the State and try to
remedy it, before filing a consolidated affidavit of compliance –
detailing the States’ compliance, and the Union Government’s action
taken in regard to the direction within 12 weeks from the date of this
judgment.
B. Appointment of public authorities
iii. The concerned Principal Secretary of the State/UT Ministry of Women
and Child [or any other Department, subject to amendment of the
Rules as per direction (vii) below], will personally ensure appointment
of a district officer in each district within their territorial jurisdiction,
as contemplated under Section 5 within four weeks from the date of
this judgment.
iv. Thereafter, each appointed district officer
(a) must in compliance of Section 6(2) appoint nodal officers in
every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area and ward
or municipality in the urban area;
(b) must constitute a LC, as contemplated under Section 6 and 7
of the Act; and
(c) ensure the contact details of these nodal officers, and LCs,
shall be forwarded to the nodal person within the State
Government Ministry of Women and Child Development
within 6 weeks from the date of this judgment.
v. Thereafter, a circular/bulletin containing names of all district officers,
and their contact details (phone, address, and email), along with a
district wise chart of the various nodal officers and their contact
 17

details, must be uploaded on the department’s website (or in the

absence of one, on the main State government website) in a
conspicuous location, along with a compiled version of the Act, Rules,
and simple charts/explainers on the basics of the Act, within 6 weeks
from the date of this judgment.
C. Amendments and gaps in Rules that State must fill
vi. The Union Government ought to consider amending the Rules, so as
to operationalise Section 26 of the Act, by recognising a reporting
authority, and/or a fine collecting authority. This direction must be
read in light of the discussion in paragraph 8 (role of district officer
with regards to annual compliance reports) and paragraph 21 (on the
penalty regime contemplated in the Act and resulting lacunae in the
Rules) above.
vii. The Union Government may also consider amending the Rules so as
to identify one Department (preferably the Women and Child
Department), and creating a ‘nodal person’ post within the said
Department to be responsible for the coordination required in the
implementation of the Act [see direction (i)]. This will ensure greater
uniformity in the implementation of the Act across the country.
D. Training and capacity building
viii. The District Officers and LCs should be mandatorily trained regarding
their important responsibilities. Given their position in the redressal
framework contemplated in the Act, they must first be sensitised to the
nature of sexual harassment, the gendered interactions that occur in
the workspace, etc. The State Governments, must organise periodic,
and regular training sessions at the District level which are to be
attended by the District Officer, members of the LC, and nodal
officers [ref: Section 24(b)].
E. Larger efforts towards awareness
ix. In furtherance of Section 24, the State/UT Governments, and Union
Government are hereby directed to set out the financial resources
allocated and or needed, to developing educational, communication
 18

and training material for spreading awareness of the provisions of this

Act to the public, and formulate orientation and training programmes
as elaborated in direction (viii) above. This plan of action, must form
part of the compliance affidavit filed by each State. The discussion in
paragraph 16 is to be read along with this direction.
x. The District Officers, once nominated by the State are hereby directed
to identify the non-governmental organisations working with women
and their protection within the district, and take action pursuant to
their duty under Section 20(b) for creation of awareness.
xi. The appropriate government or district officers in question, must also
undertake effort to spread awareness on the existence of LCs, and
make them approachable for the unorganized sector – thus
operationalizing the horizontal import of this Act.
xii. The directions (iv) and (v) passed in Aureliano Fernandes v. State of
Goa & Ors.28 (supra) cover specifically the direction to authorities,
management and employers to familiarize the members of the ICCs
and LCs of their duties and detailed step-wise manner in which an
enquiry ought to be conducted on receiving a complaint of sexual
harassment; conduct orientation programmes, workshops, seminars,
awareness programmes, etc. and to educate women employees and
women groups about the Act, Rules, and regulations are reiterated.
The modules prepared by NALSA [as per direction (vi) in Aureliano
Fernandes] to conduct workshops and organize awareness
programmes to sensitise authorities, managements, employers could
be used in this regard.
xiii. It is relevant to add here that the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, Government of India, has prepared a Handbook for
implementation of POSH Act29, which serves as a useful guide for not
just employees seeking information, but also more pertinently those
28 Judgment dated 12.05.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 2482/2014.
29 Government of India, Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (2015)
https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Handbook%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20of%20Women%20at
%20Workplace.pdf (accessed on 26.09.2023).
 19

who are nominated or appointed as members of the ICs (by the

employer) or LCs (by the District Officer). It is hereby directed that a
targeted effort be made to share this information with each District
Officer, who may in turn disseminate it to their respective LCs, the
nodal officers appointed under Section 6(2), and employers who
constitute their own ICCs.
F. Annual Compliance Reports
xiv. Due compliance with Section 21(1) and (2), and Section 22, must be
undertaken by each District Officer, of the State – including collecting
the reports from the IC/employers (or information where no report is
available), and from the LC, and preparation of a brief report to be
shared with the State government. The State/UT Governments is
hereby directed to create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
including the procedure, and timelines for this process, so as to enable
it to, in turn, comply with Section 23 of the Act, i.e., monitoring
implementation and maintaining data. This direction may be read in
light of the discussion contained in paragraph 18 above.
G. Monitoring of ICs and compliance by employers
xv. The directions passed in Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa & Ors.30
(supra) address most specifically, the constitution of ICs – in public
establishments [falling broadly within Section 2(o)(i)] and some
private establishments – such as bodies governing professional
associations, etc.; those directions are hereby reiterated, to avoid
multiplicity or overlap of efforts. It is however further, directed that
efforts made must be in line with the scheme of the Act, and through
the authorities so designated for the various roles.
xvi. Similarly, directions are hereby made to hospitals, nursing homes,
sports institutes, stadiums, sports complex, or competition or games
venues [as defined in Section 2(o)(iii) and (iv)] to establish ICs, and
report compliance as per the duties under this Act.

30 Judgment dated 12.05.2023 in Civil Appeal No. 2482/2014.

 20

xvii. The District Officer must be supplied a list of establishments

(compiled by the relevant departments of the State/UT Government)
that fall within the scope of Section 2(o), so that they may write to
them and ensure that they are well versed with the provisions relating
to employers, and their duties (including constitution of ICC under
Section 4, duties under Section 19, etc.) and are implementing them in
letter and spirit. This will also enable collection of annual reports, as
contemplated under Section 21. The consequent direction to all private
sector workplaces under Section 2(o)(ii) can be passed once the
District Officer is able to discern an exhaustive list of entities.

23. List this matter in the first week of February 2024, for further
compliance.

……………….……………..……J.
[S. RAVINDRA BHAT]

……………………………....…..J.
[DIPANKAR DATTA]

NEW DELHI
OCTOBER 19, 2023.