aameghWorkplace sexual harassment: understand the complaint routes
Understand the POSH Act, Internal and Local Committees, time limits and confidential help using the official law and plain-language explanations.
- About
- Aamegh guide with named source links
- Updated
- 13 September 2026
- Reading time
- 5 minute guide
Read-aloud is not supported in this browser. You can use your device’s reading or screen-reader tools.
Reading choices reset when you leave. Read-aloud uses your browser’s speech service; some voices use an online service. Only the published guide text is read.
Know what POSH refers to
POSH is a common name for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. It concerns unwelcome sexual conduct and workplace redressal. The Act’s definitions cover different forms of work and are not restricted to permanent office employees.
- Examples include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Ask whether the workplace and circumstances fall within the Act’s definitions.
- A general employment grievance and a sexual-harassment complaint may need different routes.
Find the committee that handles the complaint
The Internal Committee is the workplace complaint body under the Act. The district Local Committee receives complaints where an Internal Committee has not been constituted because the establishment has fewer than ten workers, or when the complaint is against the employer.
- Ask for the Internal Committee’s current contact and process.
- For the Local Committee, use the District Officer or district administration’s official contact route.
- The workplace process and any applicable criminal-law process are distinct; ask a qualified adviser about both.
Ask promptly about time limits and assistance
Section 9 generally provides three months from the incident, or the last incident in a series, to make the complaint. The committee may allow up to three additional months where the statutory conditions are met and reasons are recorded. An extension is not automatic.
- Seek advice promptly; do not calculate a personal deadline from this summary alone.
- The Act provides assistance in putting a complaint in writing.
- Ask the committee or a qualified adviser about the appropriate process and any interim support.
Protect confidentiality while seeking help
The Act restricts publication of complaint and inquiry information. Keep identifying details, statements and documents out of public posts or directory searches. NALSA or a qualified professional can explain your options in confidence through the appropriate channel.
- Keep a private timeline and preserve original material where appropriate.
- Ask how the committee receives documents securely.
- Call 15100 for the legal-aid pathway; use 112 for immediate danger.
Keep this useful next step.
Keep predefined Aamegh tasks for up to 30 days. No account, place, search, report, points or public ranking is created.
No task was stored. Every public feature remains usable.