Local Committee under the POSH Act

Statutory framework, district-level jurisdiction, constitution, and authority of the Local Committee for unorganized workplaces.

Local Committee under the POSH Act: Jurisdiction, Composition and Complaint Process

Not every POSH complaint belongs before an employer's Internal Committee. The first question is jurisdiction: does the complaint belong before the workplace-level Internal Committee, or before the district-level Local Committee?

Section 6 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 identifies the Local Committee as the district-level forum for specified situations. The distinction matters because choosing the wrong forum can create avoidable delay, procedural objection and uncertainty for everyone involved.

The current statutory term is “Local Committee”. Older judgments, policies and web pages may still use “Local Complaints Committee” or “LCC”; that was the earlier terminology before the 2016 amendment.

When does the Local Committee apply?

Section 6 expressly identifies two situations in which the Local Committee receives complaints:

the Internal Committee has not been constituted because the establishment has fewer than ten workers; or
the complaint is against the employer himself or herself.

Those two routes should not be collapsed into the broader statement that “any workplace without an IC goes to the Local Committee”. Section 9 also contains filing language referring to the Local Committee where an Internal Committee is not constituted. Where an establishment with ten or more workers was legally required to have an Internal Committee but failed to constitute one, the forum question should therefore be examined against the statutory scheme and any applicable State or District Officer practice rather than answered by a slogan.

The Local Committee is a district-level statutory body

Under Section 5, the appropriate Government may notify a District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate, Collector or Deputy Collector as the District Officer for each district. Section 6 then requires the District Officer to constitute the Local Committee for that district.

Its jurisdiction extends to the areas of the district where it is constituted. This is different from an Internal Committee, which is constituted by an employer for the workplace structure governed by Section 4.

Which forum applies: Internal Committee or Local Committee?

Question	Internal Committee	Local Committee
Who constitutes it?	Employer under Section 4	District Officer under Sections 5–7
Where does it operate?	Within the employer’s statutory workplace structure	Across the district for which it is constituted
Small establishment route	Section 6 does not route fewer-than-ten-worker establishments to an employer IC	Section 6 expressly covers establishments where IC is not constituted because there are fewer than ten workers
Complaint against the employer	Do not assume the ordinary workplace IC is the correct forum	Section 6 expressly gives the Local Committee this role
Who leads the body?	Presiding Officer under Section 4	Chairperson under Section 7
Who supports proceedings?	Employer has statutory support duties	District Officer has statutory functions; employer duties may still continue where Section 19 applies

What does “complaint against the employer” mean?

This is one of the most important jurisdiction questions on the page. A job title alone does not answer it.

Section 2(g) contains the statutory definition of “employer”. For a private workplace, the definition includes the person responsible for the management, supervision and control of the workplace. The explanation to that provision states that “management” includes the person, board or committee responsible for formulation and administration of the organisation’s policies. Government and local-authority workplaces have a separately worded limb, while dwelling places and houses have their own definition for domestic-worker purposes.

So a complaint against a founder, CEO, director, partner, secretary or senior manager should not be routed merely by designation. The organisation must first ask whether the respondent is the “employer” within Section 2(g) on the actual governance facts. Where that question is genuinely disputed, the safer course is to verify the legal and organisational position before treating jurisdiction as settled.

What if a 10+ workplace never constituted an Internal Committee?

This is a harder question than many online guides suggest. Section 6 expressly refers to non-constitution because the establishment has fewer than ten workers. Section 9, however, speaks of a complaint being made to the Internal Committee “if so constituted”, or to the Local Committee where it is not so constituted.

For a workplace that should have had an Internal Committee but failed to create one, it is unsafe to reduce the statutory scheme to either “the Local Committee definitely has jurisdiction” or “the complainant has no forum”. The employer’s non-compliance should not be treated as removing the complainant’s statutory protection, but the correct forum and procedural route may require examination of the applicable facts, State machinery and judicial position.

For PCI, this is a point of legal caution rather than a place for overconfident internet shorthand.

Nodal Officers: the local filing route

Section 6(2) requires the District Officer to designate a nodal officer in every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal areas, and in every ward or municipality in urban areas. The nodal officer receives complaints and forwards them to the concerned Local Committee within seven days.

The nodal officer is therefore a receiving and forwarding point. The Local Committee remains the statutory committee that deals with the complaint.

Who sits on the Local Committee?

Section 7 specifies the composition of the Local Committee. It is not simply an “external version” of an Internal Committee, and the eligibility rules should not be copied from one body to the other.

Chairperson — an eminent woman in the field of social work who is committed to the cause of women.
Local woman member —one woman working in the block, taluka, tehsil, ward or municipality in the district.
Two NGO/association or issue-familiar members — at least one of these two must be a woman. The provisos to Section 7(1)(c) further state that at least one nominee should preferably have a background in law or legal knowledge, and that at least one nominee shall be a woman belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes or a minority community notified by the Central Government.
Ex officio member —the concerned district officer dealing with social welfare or women and child development.

The Chairperson and members hold office for the period specified by the District Officer, subject to a maximum of three years. Section 7 also contains removal grounds, including breach of Section 16 confidentiality and specified criminal, disciplinary and public-interest grounds.

Rule 4 applies to Local Committee appointments

The nodal officer is therefore a receiving and forwarding point. The Local Committee remains the statutory committee that deals with the complaint.

How is a complaint made to the Local Committee?

Section 9 provides the complaint framework. A complaint is ordinarily made in writing within three months from the date of the incident, or from the date of the last incident where there is a series of incidents. The Local Committee may extend that period by a further period not exceeding three months if it is satisfied that circumstances prevented filing within time and records its reasons in writing.

If the complaint cannot be made in writing, the Chairperson or any member of the Local Committee must provide reasonable assistance to put it in writing. Where the aggrieved woman cannot make the complaint because of physical or mental incapacity, death or other specified circumstances, Section 9(2) read with Rule 6 provides for complaints by specified persons.

For a step-by-step treatment of complaint drafting, limitation and who may complain, link this section to the dedicated POSH Complaint Process page rather than duplicating it here.

What happens after the Local Committee receives the complaint?

The Local Committee uses the same central statutory complaint-and-inquiry framework in Sections 10 to 18, subject to the facts and any applicable service rules.

Conciliation is not automatic. Under Section 10, it may be attempted before inquiry only at the request of the aggrieved woman; monetary settlement cannot be the basis of conciliation.
Where an inquiry proceeds, Section 11 applies. The central statute provides a 90-day period for completion of the inquiry.
During the inquiry, interim measures may be recommended on a written request by the aggrieved woman under Section 12.
Section 13 requires the findings report to be provided within ten days from completion of the inquiry. The District Officer is the statutory recipient where the matter is before the Local Committee.
The District Officer is required to act on the Local Committee’s recommendation within 60 days of receipt under Section 13(4).

The details of evidence, hearings, natural justice and report-writing belong on the dedicated Inquiry Process and Natural Justice pages. The purpose here is to show the Local Committee’s place in the statutory route.

A special point for domestic workers

The Act gives domestic workers a specific route through the Local Committee. Section 11(1) contains a police-forwarding mechanism where the Local Committee finds a prima facie case. The bare text of the 2013 Act still refers to the Indian Penal Code. India’s new criminal laws came into force on 1 July 2024, so any current criminal-law step should be checked under the law now in force rather than relying mechanically on the old IPC section reference printed in the original POSH provision.

Does the employer still have responsibilities when the Local Committee is involved?

Yes. A matter moving to the Local Committee does not necessarily make the employer irrelevant to the process.

Section 19 expressly refers to duties owed to the Internal Committee or Local Committee, as the case may be. These include providing necessary facilities for dealing with the complaint and conducting the inquiry, assisting in securing attendance of the respondent and witnesses, and making available information required in relation to the complaint. The exact role will depend on the workplace and the matter before the Local Committee.

An employer should therefore avoid treating Local Committee jurisdiction as a reason to disengage, withhold records or start a parallel internal fact-finding exercise that could interfere with the statutory process.

Five jurisdiction questions to answer before filing

What is the relevant workplace or establishment for the complaint?
Why has an Internal Committee not been constituted, if there is no IC?
Is the respondent actually the statutory “employer” under Section 2(g), or simply a senior office-holder?
Which district Local Committee has territorial jurisdiction over the matter?
Are there State or District Officer directions that affect the filing route or contact point?
These questions are more useful than asking only, “Does the company have an IC?” Jurisdiction depends on the statutory structure and the actual facts.

Common mistakes around the Local Committee

Treating every missing Internal Committee as an automatic Section 6 Local Committee case.
Assuming every CEO, founder or director is automatically the “employer” for Section 6.
Using the old term “Local Complaints Committee” without explaining that the current statutory term is Local Committee.
Copying Internal Committee composition rules onto the Local Committee, or vice versa.
Importing Rule 4’s Section 7 criteria into every Internal Committee External Member appointment.
Ignoring the nodal-officer receiving route provided by Section 6(2).
Assuming the employer has no further duties once a complaint is before the Local Committee.
Publishing complaint or inquiry details without regard to Section 16 confidentiality.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Frequently asked questions

Related POSH guidance

POSH Complaint Process
POSH Inquiry Process before the Internal Committee
Principles of Natural Justice in a POSH Inquiry
POSH Confidentiality Rules
Internal Committee Constitution and Composition
External Member of the Internal Committee
Presiding Officer under the POSH Act

Disclaimer: This content is for general legal awareness and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, advertisement, solicitation, or create an advocate-client relationship. Jurisdiction can turn on the facts of the workplace, the identity of the statutory employer, State or district-level implementation, and the procedural posture of the complaint. For legal advice concerning specific facts, disputes or proceedings, consult an independent qualified legal professional.