Supreme Court: Woman May Approach Her Own Department’s ICC For Harassment By Outsider

The Supreme Court held that a woman employee can file a sexual harassment complaint before the Internal Complaints Committee of her own department even when the accused works for a different organisation.

The Court said the POSH Act aims to ensure a safe workplace and cannot be interpreted narrowly or technically that restricts the remedy only to complaints against co-employees.

It observed that denying jurisdiction in such cases would leave women without an effective forum, defeating the purpose of the statute.

It clarified that ICCs must follow a practical, victim-centric approach and that the respondent’s employer must cooperate with inquiries conducted by the ICC of the aggrieved woman’s workplace.

[Dr Sohail Malik v. Union of India & Anr.]