Sexual harassment
Also called: Sexual harassment at workplace, POSH
Unwelcome sexual conduct, such as physical advances, demands for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography. It is a workplace wrong under the POSH Act and an offence under Section 75 BNS.
Explained
Sexual harassment has two statutory homes. Section 2(n) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 defines it to include any unwelcome act or behaviour, directly or by implication, such as physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. Section 3(1) provides that no woman shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace, and Section 3(2) lists circumstances that may amount to it, such as promises of preferential treatment, threats about employment, or a hostile work environment.
The Act is a civil and preventive scheme. An aggrieved woman under Section 2(a) is a woman of any age, employed or not, who alleges harassment at a workplace, or a woman employed in a dwelling place. Every employer must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee under Section 4, and a Local Committee constituted by the District Officer under Section 6 receives complaints from establishments that have no Internal Committee because they have fewer than ten workers, or where the complaint is against the employer himself. Under Section 9 a complaint must be made in writing within three months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series. The respondent is any person against whom a complaint is made.
The criminal offence is in Section 75 of the BNS, earlier Section 354A of the IPC. A man commits it by physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures, a demand or request for sexual favours, showing pornography against a woman's will, or making sexually coloured remarks. The first three carry rigorous imprisonment up to three years, the last imprisonment up to one year, with or without fine.
The Act grew out of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), where the Supreme Court, in the absence of legislation, read CEDAW into Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 and laid down binding guidelines. Examiners test the definition, the three month limit, the committees, the Section 75 punishments and the basis of Vishaka.
What the law says
(n) “sexual harassment” includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behavior (whether directly or by implication) namely:—
(i) physical contact and advances; or
(ii) a demand or request for sexual favours; or
(iii) making sexually coloured remarks; or
(iv) showing pornography; or
(v) any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature;
Clause (n) defines sexual harassment; clause (a) aggrieved woman
(1) No woman shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace.
(2) The following circumstances, among other circumstances, if it occurs, or is present in relation to or connected with any act or behavior of sexual harassment may amount to sexual harassment:—
(i) implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment; or
Prohibits sexual harassment and lists circumstances amounting to it
(1) Any aggrieved woman may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the Internal Committee if so constituted, or the Local Committee, in case it is not so constituted, within a period of three months from the date of incident and in case of a series of incidents, within a period of three months from the date of last incident:
Provided that where such complaint cannot be made in writing, the Presiding Officer or any Member of the Internal Committee or the Chairperson or any Member of the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall render all reasonable assistance to the woman for making the complaint in writing:
Provided further that the Internal Committee or, as the case may be, the Local Committee may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the time limit not exceeding three months, if it is satisfied that the circumstances were such which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the said period.
Complaint within three months
shall be guilty of the offence of sexual harassment.
(2) Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (i) or clause (ii) or clause (iii) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
(3) Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
Offence of sexual harassment and its punishment
Earlier law: IPC 354A. Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment.
(1) Every District Officer shall constitute in the district concerned, a committee to be known as the “[Local Committee]” to receive complaints of sexual harassment from establishments where the [Internal Committee] has not been constituted due to having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself.
(2) The District Officer shall designate one nodal officer in every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area and ward or municipality in the urban area, to receive complaints and forward the same to the concerned [Local Committee] within a period of seven days.
(3) The jurisdiction of the [Local Committee] shall extend to the areas of the district where it is constituted.
Local Committee for establishments with fewer than ten workers or complaints against the employer
Earlier law: Section 354A, IPC
For the exam
- POSH Act Section 2(n) defines it; Section 3(2) lists circumstances that may amount to it.
- Complaint in writing within three months of the incident or the last incident (Section 9).
- BNS Section 75 offence is committed by a man; earlier Section 354A IPC.
- Vishaka (1997) relied on CEDAW to frame binding workplace guidelines.
102 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Labour & Industrial Law questions
Judgments
Related terms
- WomanUnder Section 2(35) of the BNS, a female human being of any age. Other statutes, such as labour and ART laws, adopt narrower meanings for their own purposes.
- Aggrieved personUnder Section 2(a) of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and alleges that the respondent subjected her to domestic violence.
- WorkmanA person employed to do manual, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 now uses the term worker in Section 2(zr).
- CrueltyFor Section 85 of the BNS, cruelty means wilful conduct likely to drive a woman to suicide or gravely endanger her life, limb or health, or harassment to coerce her or her relatives to meet an unlawful demand.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.