POSH Act Complaint Barred by Limitation In Absence Of Any Incident Of Sexual Harassment Within 3 Months: Calcutta High Court
|The Calcutta High Court was considering a writ petition filed against an order setting aside the report of the Internal Complaints Committee.
The Calcutta High Court has upheld an order quashing a report of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act (POSH), 2013, and further observed that in the absence of any incident of sexual harassment within three months’ period prior to lodging of the complaint, the same would be barred by limitation under the Act.
The High Court was considering a writ petition filed against an order passed by the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) setting aside the report of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), under the Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act, 2013.
The Bench comprising Justice Madhuresh Prasad and Justice Prasenjit Biswas stated, “A plain reading of the complaint extracted above leaves no ambiguity that the same does not disclose any incident of sexual harassment after July 2022. The complaint merely disclosed apprehension in the mind of the complainant which induced fright leading her to lodging of the complaint. In absence of any incident of sexual harassment within three months’ period prior to lodging of the complaint, the same is barred by limitation under the Act.”
Advocate Guddu Singh represented the Petitioner while Advocate Srijib Chakraborty represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
The case arose from an allegation of sexual harassment at the workplace made by the aggrieved woman/Complainant, who was posted as a staff member in the Office of the CID, West Bengal as a Data Entry Operator (DEO). The complainant alleged that while she was working on the computer the DSP would touch her inappropriately. In her complaint she alleged that she was a contractual employee. She had a small child at home and used to leave the office in the evening. Under compelling circumstances, she put up with such behaviour and remained silent due to fear.
The ICC was of the opinion that the DSP be proceeded against for misconduct as per service rules by departmental action. The report was assailed by the DSP before the Tribunal, which set aside the report by the impugned order. This order of the Tribunal was put to challenge in the writ proceedings by the State. The complainant did not appear before the Tribunal.
Reasoning
On a perusal of the allegations, the Bench noted that the same disclosed that the incident of sexual harassment was continuing, as per allegations made in the complaint, till July 2022. Thereafter, the complainant stated that three months later she saw the DSP in the office and was scared. She apprehended such sexual harassment in the office in future.
The Bench found that the Act does not mention or contemplate sexual harassment based on apprehension of sexual harassment in the mind of a complainant to constitute sexual harassment for the purposes of making a complaint under the Act, let alone a report being submitted, recommending action under the Act, which was done in the instant case.
The Bench held that the complaint did not disclose any incident of sexual harassment after July 2022 which might have justified the making of a complaint in January 2023. “The complaint therefore, was barred by limitation under Section 9 of the 2013 Act. The complaint was time barred as per the Act and judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in 2025…”, it added.
Thus, finding no error in the Tribunal’s order quashing the report of the ICC as being time-barred, the Bench dismissed the petition.
Cause Title: State of West Bengal and Ors. v. Lala Mir and Ors (Case No.: WPST 250 of 2025)
Appearance
Petitioner: Advocates Guddu Singh, Sarda Sha
Respondent: Advocates Srijib Chakraborty, Washim Akthir Dafader