POSH-5

POSH Act and Gender-Neutrality

Many ask, is the POSH Act gender neutral? The answer is no. As per the POSH Act, only women can file a complaint of sexual harassment. It is to be noted that the POSH Act allows an aggrieved woman to file a sexual harassment complaint against another woman.

In a landmark judgment for the case “Dr. Malabika Bhattacharjee vs. Internal Complaints Committee, Vivekananda College”, the Honorable Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya of the High Court of Calcutta remarked:

"There is nothing in Section 9 of the 2013 Act to preclude a same-gender complaint under the Act."

“...it might seem a bit odd at the first that people of the same gender complain of sexual harassment against each other, it is not improbable, particularly in the context of the dynamic mode which the Indian society is adopting currently, even debating the issue as to whether same-gender marriages may be legalized."

“If section 3(2) is looked into, it is seen that the acts contemplated therein can be perpetrated by the members of any gender, even inter se“.

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What is Local Committee or Local Complaints Committee according to POSH Act?

Local Committee (LC) is a body formulated according to the Section 6 of the POSH Act which states that the District Officer must form the Local Complaints Committee for the respective district.

LC will receive and redress complaints of sexual harassment from:

• Employees of organizations that do not have an Internal Committee because the organization has less than ten employees.

• Women working in unorganized sector (like housemaids, cooks)

• Employees from organization which has an Internal Committee if the sexual harassment complaint is against the employer itself.

Note: Local Committee was formerly called as the “Local Complaints Committee”. The name change from Local Complaints Committee to Local Committee was brought forward in “THE REPEALING AND AMENDING ACT, 2016”.

Constitution of Local Committee

The District Officer will nominate the following members to the Local Committee:

Member	Description
Chairperson	An eminent woman in the field of social work and committed to the cause of women.
Members	A woman working in block, taluka or tehsil or ward or municipality in the district.
Two Members	From NGOs or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment. One of them should be a woman.
Ex-officio member	The officer dealing with the social welfare or women and child development in the district will be a member of the LC ex officio, or by default.

The District officer will keep the following in mind when constituting the LC:

• One of the members should, preferably, have a background in law or legal knowledge.

• At least one of the nominees will be a woman belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or the Other Backward Classes or minority community.

Jurisdiction of Local Committee

The jurisdiction of LC extends to the areas of the district where it is constituted.

Remuneration for Local Committee Members

All the Local Committee members are entitled to an allowance for holding the proceedings. The District Officer is responsible for this payment.

Tenure and Disqualification of Local Committee Member

Every LC member will hold the office for a period of three years since the date of their appointment. However, an LC member can be removed from the position before their term if he/she:

1. Breaches confidentiality regarding information related to the case, such as the details related to the identity of the complainant, witness, or the respondent, information regarding the progress of the investigation, or the recommendation made by or actions taken by IC.

2. Is convicted of an offence or an inquiry into the offence is pending.

3. Has any pending disciplinary proceedings after being found guilty.

4. Has abused any powers to continue in their positions in office which could be against the public interest.