POSH Complaint Ignored by Internal Committee? Escalation Guide

Who this guide is for

This guide is for any woman in India who has experienced sexual harassment at her workplace, has tried to raise it through the proper channel, and is now being ignored. It is written with the seriousness the subject deserves. You may be in one of these situations:

• You filed a written complaint with the Internal Committee, but received no acknowledgement and no update for weeks.
• You asked HR or your manager who the IC members are, and nobody could give you a clear answer — because the committee may not exist.
• The IC started an inquiry but it has stalled, gone past the statutory deadline, or feels biased towards the employer.
• Your complaint is against the employer or a very senior person, and you do not trust the in-house committee to act fairly.
• You work in an organisation with fewer than the threshold number of employees, so there is no IC at all.

The POSH Act covers a wide definition of "workplace" and "employee" — including regular, temporary, contract, and intern roles, and many premises beyond a traditional office. If you are unsure whether you are covered, do not rule yourself out. This guide focuses on the escalation path when a complaint is being ignored. If you have not yet filed at all, start with our companion guide on how to file a POSH workplace harassment complaint, then return here.

This is practical information, not legal advice. POSH matters are sensitive and the stakes are high. Where this guide suggests "consider a lawyer," please take that seriously — a qualified advocate or an established women's rights organisation can protect your position in ways a self-help article cannot.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Start by protecting your evidence. Harassment cases are often won or lost on what you can show. Make a private, dated chronology: what happened, when, where, who was present, and what you did about it. Write it in your own words while it is fresh.

Gather every message in one place — emails, chat logs, WhatsApp, screenshots, call records, and any written complaint you already sent. Back them up to a personal account or device that your employer cannot access or wipe. Do not delete anything, even messages that feel uncomfortable to keep.

Find the copy of your original complaint and the exact date you submitted it. Note whether you ever received an acknowledgement. The clock on the inquiry usually runs from when the IC received your written complaint, so that date matters.

Saturday

Find out whether your workplace actually has an Internal Committee. Check the notice board, the HR intranet, the employee handbook, and the company's POSH policy. The names and contact details of IC members are supposed to be displayed. If you cannot find them, send a short, polite written request to HR asking for the names of the IC members and a copy of the POSH policy. Keep that email — silence in reply is itself useful evidence.

Draft a written follow-up to the IC (use the template in this guide). Ask three things clearly: that they acknowledge your complaint in writing, that they confirm the date the inquiry began, and that they tell you the current status. Send it to the IC's official email and copy your own personal email so you hold a timestamped copy.

Identify your District Officer. Each district has an officer notified under the POSH Act who is responsible for the Local Committee. Search the website of your State Women and Child Development department, the district administration, or the State Women's Commission for the current notification. Save the contact details. Confirm them, because they change over time and vary by state.

Sunday

Decide your route based on the facts. If a genuine IC exists and is simply slow, your first move is the written follow-up plus a deadline. If there is no IC, the IC is non-functional, or your complaint is against the employer, your route is the Local Committee through the District Officer.

Prepare your escalation bundle: a covering letter, a copy of your original complaint, your follow-up emails, proof of the dates, and your chronology. Number the pages and list them in an index. Keep one master set and make copies.

Reach out for support. A trusted colleague, a counsellor, a women's rights organisation, or the National Commission for Women helpline can help you think clearly and stay safe. If the conduct may also be a criminal offence, note that you can file a police complaint in parallel — get advice before deciding.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Preserve evidence before you do anything else

Before you send a single escalation email, secure your records. Back up messages, screenshots, and your complaint to a place your employer cannot reach. Write a dated chronology in your own words. Evidence has a way of disappearing once a dispute heats up, so this step comes first. Do not edit or delete anything, and do not forward inquiry documents to people outside the process, because that can breach confidentiality.

Step 2 — Confirm whether an Internal Committee actually exists

The law requires every employer with the threshold number of workers to constitute an Internal Committee and to display the IC members' names where employees can see them. Check the notice board, intranet, and POSH policy. If you cannot find the names, send HR a short written request for the IC members and the policy. Their answer — or silence — tells you which route to take and becomes part of your record. Failure to constitute an IC where required is itself a breach that can attract a penalty on the employer.

Step 3 — Send a written follow-up to the IC with a clear ask

If an IC exists but is silent, write to it formally. Ask for a written acknowledgement, the date the inquiry began, and the current status. Reference your original complaint and its date. Keep the tone factual, not emotional, and set a reasonable date by which you expect a reply. Send it to the IC's official email, and copy your personal email so you hold a timestamped record. This single document often unlocks a stalled inquiry, and if it does not, it strengthens your escalation.

Step 4 — Track the statutory inquiry timeline

The POSH Act sets a defined window for completing the inquiry — generally described as 90 days — with the committee's report to follow shortly after. Mark the relevant dates from when your complaint was received. If the IC has crossed that window with no inquiry and no report, note it precisely. A documented breach of the statutory timeline is one of your strongest grounds when you escalate. Timelines can shift for recorded reasons, so record the actual dates rather than assuming.

Step 5 — Decide whether to go to the Local Committee

Take your complaint to the Local Committee through the District Officer in any of these situations: the workplace has no IC (for example, fewer than the threshold number of employees), the IC exists only on paper and is not functioning, or your complaint is against the employer themselves. The Local Committee is the statutory safety net for exactly these cases. You do not need the employer's permission to approach it.

Step 6 — Identify and approach your District Officer

Each district has a District Officer notified under the POSH Act, usually under the State Women and Child Development department or the district administration. Find the current notification on the state department website, the district website, or via the State Women's Commission. Submit your written complaint with your evidence bundle. Get a dated acknowledgement or use a trackable mode of delivery so you can prove the date of filing. Contact details vary by state and change over time, so verify before you send.

Step 7 — Use grievance and commission channels in parallel

If your employer is a government body or public-sector undertaking, you can also lodge a grievance on CPGRAMS and use RTI to confirm whether an IC was constituted and what the status of your matter is. The National Commission for Women and your State Women's Commission accept complaints and can take up matters with the authorities. These channels support your case; they do not replace the IC or Local Committee inquiry. See our guide on using CPGRAMS and RTI together for the mechanics.

Step 8 — Get legal support and consider parallel remedies

POSH matters can run alongside criminal and civil proceedings. If the conduct may also be a criminal offence, you can file a police complaint or FIR in parallel — the inquiry and a criminal case can proceed together. A qualified advocate or an established women's rights organisation can help you choose the right mix of remedies, protect you from retaliation, and represent you before the committee or a court. Given the stakes, treat professional help as essential rather than optional.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste escalation template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details. Keep the tone factual. Send to the IC first; adapt the addressee to the District Officer for the Local Committee route.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities — central and state government departments, public-sector undertakings, government-funded bodies, and similar institutions. If your employer is a public authority, RTI can be a useful support tool in a POSH escalation in these specific ways:

• Confirming the IC was constituted: File an RTI with the Central or State Public Information Officer of the body asking whether an Internal Committee has been constituted under the POSH Act, the names and designations of its members, and the date of constitution. This exposes a paper or non-existent committee.
• Tracking the status of your matter: Where a public authority holds the record, you can ask for the current status of inquiries pending before the IC in general terms, and any office orders on the POSH process — framed carefully so as not to seek other people's protected personal information.
• Status of a Local Committee or District Officer complaint: The District Officer and the Local Committee operate under a public authority. RTI can be used to ask about the procedure, the time taken to act on complaints, and the status of your own representation.

To file an RTI online, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. The CPIO must normally respond within 30 days. If your application is ignored or refused, our guide on filing a first appeal under RTI Section 19 explains the next step. For deeper strategy on using RTI in difficult institutional disputes, The RTI Playbook is a useful reference. You can also compare RTI with other complaint routes through our employment overview on employment and labour schemes in India and the wider Jobs and Employment guides.

When RTI will not help

RTI has firm limits in a POSH case, and it is important to be honest about them:

• RTI cannot adjudicate your complaint: It is a tool to obtain information, not to decide whether harassment occurred or to order any remedy. Only the Internal Committee, the Local Committee, or a court can inquire into the complaint and recommend action.
• RTI does not reach a private employer: If you work for a private company, RTI does not apply to its internal files. Your levers there are the written follow-up, the Local Committee through the District Officer, the women's commission, and, where relevant, the police and courts.
• RTI will not speed up a decision: The 30-day RTI window is slower than a properly run inquiry. Use RTI to confirm facts and apply pressure, not as your main remedy. And third parties' protected personal information may be lawfully withheld even from a public authority.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Letting evidence slip away: Do not rely on your work email or work device to hold your records. Back everything up to a personal account first. Records on company systems can become inaccessible the moment a dispute turns hostile.
• Chasing the IC only by phone: Verbal follow-ups leave no trace. Put every request in writing, copy your personal email, and keep dated proof. If it is not written down, it is hard to prove later.
• Assuming there is no remedy when there is no IC: A missing or fake Internal Committee is not a dead end. The Local Committee through the District Officer exists precisely for this, and the absence of an IC is itself a breach by the employer.
• Breaching confidentiality yourself: Sharing inquiry documents or naming the parties publicly can breach the POSH Act's confidentiality rule and may attract a penalty. Keep the matter within the lawful process and your advisers.
• Worrying you are out of time, and doing nothing: There is a window for filing, but committees can extend it for recorded reasons. Filing late with an explanation is far better than not filing at all. Let the committee decide on extension.
• Treating the IC as your only option: The POSH inquiry runs separately from criminal and civil law. Where the conduct is also an offence, you can pursue a police complaint in parallel. Get advice before choosing your combination of remedies.
• Going it entirely alone: These cases are heavy and the other side often has lawyers. A qualified advocate or a women's rights organisation can protect you from retaliation and present your case far more effectively than a self-drafted letter.
• Ignoring retaliation: Victimisation for making a POSH complaint is itself prohibited. If you face demotion, transfer, or pressure to withdraw, document it immediately and raise it with the committee and your adviser — it strengthens your position.

For related employment problems where an employer goes silent, see our guides on an employer not paying your salary and the broader set of practical citizen-action guides.