When an Internal Committee (“IC”) rejects a sexual harassment complaint, at the threshold, on the ground that it does not contain a “sexual element”, can that decision be challenged under Section 18 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”), even though no inquiry was conducted? The Bombay High Court, in the case of Anup Vikal v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., has clarified that such a threshold decision is n

In the recent case of Ashima Sanjeev Minocha v. Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited & Anr., the Gujarat High Court considered the scope of judicial review of an Internal Complaints Committee (“IC”) decision under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”). The petitioner had challenged the IC’s final report rejecting her complaint, alleging, among other things, flaws in the constitution and f

The National Commission for Women (“NCW”) has issued an advisory on 19 June 2026 recommending significant measures to strengthen the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 ("POSH Act"). The advisory sends a clear message: POSH compliance is no longer just about constituting an Internal Committee — it is about demonstrating that your compliance framework actually works. What's New? 1. Mandatory Annu