Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: POSH Act · Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 (POSH Act) requires every workplace with 10 or more employees to have an Internal Committee [1]. Each district must have a Local Committee. These committees hear and look into complaints of sexual harassment of women at work.

It matters because it turned the Supreme Court's Vishaka guidelines (1997) into a law passed by Parliament. It gives women a legal way to complain about harassment at work. It also makes employers answerable if they fail to protect women.

Explanation

Where the law came from

  • Vishaka guidelines (1997):
  • Parliament had no law on sexual harassment at work.
  • So the Supreme Court filled the gap with binding guidelines. These were rules that everyone had to follow until Parliament made a law.

  • The guidelines were based on Arts. 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21.

  • POSH Act 2013: Parliament turned these guidelines into a full law.

The two committees

Feature Internal Committee (IC) Local Committee (LC)
Where it sits Inside the workplace In each district
Who must have one Every workplace with 10 or more employees [1] Set up for the whole district
Whose complaints it hears Complaints from women in that workplace Workplaces with fewer than 10 employees, the informal sector (for example, domestic workers), and complaints against the employer
  • How an IC is made up:
  • It is headed by a senior woman employee.
  • At least half its members must be women.

  • One member comes from outside, such as an NGO. This keeps the committee neutral (not on anyone's side).

  • Why the LC is needed: a small shop or a home has no IC. An employee also cannot fairly complain about the boss to a committee the boss controls. The LC covers both gaps.

How a complaint is handled

  1. A woman files her complaint with the IC, or with the LC if her case falls under it.
  2. The committee holds an inquiry, which means it checks the facts and hears both sides.
  3. The inquiry must be finished within 90 days.
  4. Complaints can also be filed online through SHe-Box (see below).

Penalties on employers

  • First offence: an employer who does not set up an IC, or who breaks the Act in another way, can be fined up to ₹50,000 [1][2].
  • Repeat offence [1]:
  • The fine is doubled.
  • The employer's licence or registration can be cancelled.

In the Constitution and practice

  • Constitutional basis:
  • Art. 14: equality before law and equal protection of laws.
  • Art. 15(1): no discrimination on grounds of sex. Art. 15(3) also lets the State make special provisions for women.
  • Art. 19(1)(g): the right to practise any profession or carry on any occupation. Harassment takes this right away from women.
  • Art. 21: the right to life with dignity.
  • Art. 42 (DPSP): just and humane conditions of work. DPSP are goals the government should follow when it makes laws, but courts cannot enforce them directly.

  • Art. 51A(e) (Fundamental Duty): every citizen must renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

  • Type of law: an Act of Parliament (2013), so it is a statutory protection. It is not written in the Constitution itself.

  • Who runs it: employers set up ICs. Districts have LCs. The Ministry of Women and Child Development runs the SHe-Box portal.
  • How it has worked in practice:
  • Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (2023):
    • The Supreme Court found that the Act was poorly enforced. Many bodies had no committees at all.
    • It ordered all ministries, departments and public bodies to set up committees.
  • SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment electronic Box):
    • This is a central online portal where women can file complaints.
    • The new portal was launched on 29 August 2024 [3].
    • It gives a single-window platform, meaning one place to file a complaint. It also keeps a central record of committees, which did not exist before [1].

Don't confuse with

  • Vishaka guidelines (1997): these were court-made guidelines in a judgment of the Supreme Court. The POSH Act 2013 is a law made by Parliament that replaced them.
  • Internal Committee and Local Committee: the IC sits inside a workplace with 10 or more employees. The LC sits at the district level. It covers small workplaces, the informal sector and complaints against the employer.
  • Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005: this law covers abuse at home and is a civil law. Its orders are passed by a magistrate. The POSH Act covers harassment at the workplace, and its inquiries are run by committees.
  • Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013: it was passed in the same year. It came after the Justice Verma Committee and made stalking, voyeurism and acid attack crimes. The POSH Act sets up a complaint system at work. It is not a criminal code.

Prelims Hooks

  • The POSH Act 2013 grew out of the Vishaka guidelines (1997). Those guidelines were based on Arts. 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21.
  • An Internal Committee is required at 10 or more employees [1]. It is headed by a senior woman, at least half its members are women, and one member is from outside (such as an NGO).
  • The Local Committee is set up at the district level. Trap: it also hears complaints against the employer, not only those from small workplaces.
  • The inquiry must be finished in 90 days. The fine is up to ₹50,000 [1][2]. For a repeat offence the fine is doubled and the licence or registration can be cancelled [1].
  • Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (2023): the Supreme Court found weak enforcement and ordered all ministries, departments and public bodies to set up committees.
  • SHe-Box is run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The new portal was launched on 29 August 2024 [3].

Mains Points

  • Gap between law and practice:
  • Many bodies had no committees, which is why the Supreme Court ruled as it did in Aureliano Fernandes (2023).
  • The Act exists on paper, but it works only if employers obey it and someone checks that they do.

  • Possible fixes: monitoring through SHe-Box, audits of committees, and stronger enforcement at the district level.

  • Women in the informal sector:

  • Domestic workers and women in very small workplaces have no IC.
  • They depend on Local Committees, which are often weak.

  • So the women who need protection most have the weakest remedy.

  • Real equality at work:

  • A workplace free from harassment is needed for women's equal right to work (Arts. 14, 15, 19(1)(g)) and for their dignity (Art. 21).
  • The Act shows that equality sometimes needs special measures for women, which Art. 15(3) allows.
  • These measures should be seen as enhancements of equality, not departures from it.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1PIB, "An Overview of SH Act 2013 and SHe-Box Portal"pib.gov.in · tier 1
  2. 2The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (India Code)upload.indiacode.nic.in · tier 1
  3. 3PIB, "SHe-Box portal recently launched by Ministry of Women and Child Development"pib.gov.in · tier 1