POSH RULES 2013

OVERVIEW BY

Ann .V. Varghese ,sixth semester student , Government law college, Ernakulam. Convener, LJRF CWC .

THE POSH ACT 2013

The POSH ACT, 2013 via S.29 provides the Central government the power to make rules for carrying out the provisions of the Act including those regarding fees or allowances, nomination of members, powers, reliefs, manner of actions, manner of appeals, annual reports etc. The POSH Rules, 2013 consisting of 14 rules has therefore come into existence following the exercise of power. The act is to be read with the rules to get an understanding of its ambit.

1.Fees, Allowances and Penalties:

Sl. No	Provision	Fees/Allowances/ Penalties	Amount	Notes
1	R.3	Fees for Member of Internal Complaints Committee appointed from NGO	Rs.200/day Reimbursement of travel expenses	Reimbursement of travel cost is the lesser of: Cost incurred in travelling by train in 3 tier AC or AC bus and auto or taxi Actual amount spent on travel   Payable by employer
2	R.5	Fees for Chairperson or member of Local Committee	Rs.250/day (Chairperson) Rs.200/day (members) Reimbursement of travel expenses	Reimbursement of travel cost is the lesser of: Cost incurred in travelling by train in 3 tier AC or AC bus and auto or taxi Actual amount spent on travel  This remuneration is NA to Member to be nominated from amongst the women working in block, taluka or tehsil or ward or municipality in the district and
					ex-officio member dealing with social welfare or women and child department in the district
					Payable by district officer
3	R.12	Penalty for disclosure of victim’s details	Rs.5000 be recovered by employer from such person		Subject to S.17 of POSH Act

2. Persons who can make complaints on behalf of the aggrieved woman

By virtue of S.9(2) of the POSH Act, if an aggrieved woman is unable to make a complaint on account of her physical or mental incapability, certain persons prescribed may do so. These classes of persons are defined under the POSH Rules as follows:

1. Relative
2. Friend
3. Co-worker
4. Officer of Nation Commission for Women
5. Officer of State Commission for Women
6. Any person who has knowledge of the incident with the written consent of the
   aggrieved woman

b. Persons who can file complaint on behalf of the aggrieved woman on account of her mental incapability

1. Relative/ friend
2. Special educator
3. Qualified psychiatrist or psychologist
4. Guardian or authority under whose care she is receiving treatment or care
5. Any person who has knowledge of the incident jointly with persons (1) – (4)

c. In case the aggrieved woman is unable to make a complaint on account of any other reason, any person who has knowledge of the incident with the written consent of the aggrieved woman can file a complaint. In the event of her being not alive, any person who has knowledge of the incident with the written consent of the heirs of the aggrieved woman can file a complaint.

3. Manner of inquiry
The provisions of S.11 provide for the powers of the Complaints Committee to inquiry on complaints which are to be read with R.7 of the POSH Rules. 

1. Six copies of the of the complaint along with supporting documents and the names and addresses of the witnesses should be submitted to the Complaints Committee at the time of filing of complaints
2. On receipt of the complaint, the Complaints Committee shall send one of the copies received from the aggrieved woman to the respondent within a period of seven working days.
3. The respondent shall file his reply to the complaint along with his list of documents, and names and addresses of witnesses, within a period not exceeding ten working days from the date of receipt of the documents
4. The Complaints Committee then makes inquiry into the complaint.
5. The Complaints Committee has the right to terminate the inquiry proceedings or to give an ex- parte decision on the complaint, if the complainant or respondent fails (without sufficient cause) to present themselves for three consecutive hearings. Such termination or ex-parte order, however may not be passed without giving a notice in writing, fifteen days in advance, to the party concerned
6. The parties shall not be allowed to bring in any legal practitioner to represent them in their case at any stage of the proceedings before the Complaints Committee.

In conducting the inquiry, a minimum of three Members of the Complaints Committee including the Presiding Officer or the Chairperson shall be present.

4. Reliefs during the pendency of inquiry

a. restrain the respondent from reporting on the work performance of the aggrieved woman or writing her confidential report, and assign the same to another officer
b. restrain the respondent in case of an educational institution from supervising any academic activity of the aggrieved woman.

5. Manner of action

Except wherein service rules apply, the committee may suggest the following actions (inclusive and not exhaustive) :

a. written apology
b. warning
c. reprimand
d. censure
e. withholding of promotion
f. withholding of pay rise or increments
g. terminating the respondent from service o
h. undergoing a counselling session
i. carrying out community service.

6. Organizing workshop

S. 19 of the POSH Act places a duty upon the employer to organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees with the provisions of the Act and orientation programmes for the members of the Internal Committee. The rules stipulate for formulation of policy, raising awareness etc. in this regard. The modules developed by the State government may be used for raising awareness and sensitizing employees about the provisions of the Act.

7. Annual report

By S.21 of the POSH Act, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, shall in each calendar year prepare an annual report and submit the same to the employer and the District Officer who shall in turn submit it to the state government. This report shall have:

• number of complaints of sexual harassment received in the year;
• number of complaints disposed off during the year;
• number of workshops or awareness programmes against sexual harassment carried out;
• nature of action taken by the employer or District Officer.