TCS Nashik case: What POSH Act says? All you need to know

TCS Nashik case: When dozens of employees at a TCS unit in Nashik began filing complaints of sexual harassment, religious coercion and workplace misconduct, they turned to the mechanism the law had promised them, their company's internal redressal system.

With reports suggesting that at least 70 complaints were filed over time, and some victims allegedly asked to withdraw grievances, the case has brought renewed attention to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, a law meant to ensure timely action and accountability in such situations.

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What is the POSH Act?

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013 and came into effect on December 9 of that year. It was built on the Vishaka guidelines that had been in place since 1997, formalising them into binding law and extending their scope across all workplaces in India.

The Act defines sexual harassment to include any of the following:

• Physical contact and advances

• Demands or requests for sexual favours

• Sexually coloured remarks

• Showing pornography

• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature

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The law applies to all public and private organisations with 10 or more employees, a threshold that places virtually every significant employer in the country within its purview.

Must read: TCS Nashik case: CEO announces oversight panel, says 'no POSH complaint found'

The Internal Complaints Committee: The law's first line of defence

At the heart of the POSH framework is the Internal Complaints Committee, or ICC, now commonly referred to as the Internal Committee or IC. Every employer is required to constitute one at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.

The committee must include a woman as the presiding officer, at least two employees, and one external member. Critically, at least 50% of its members must be women.

Once a complaint is received, the process is clearly defined:

• The respondent must be given 10 working days to respond

• A complaint must be filed in writing within three months of the incident, extendable to six months

• The IC must complete its inquiry within 90 days of receiving the complaint

• The inquiry report must be issued within 10 days of completion

• The complainant may request conciliation before a formal inquiry begins

The IC holds powers comparable to those of a civil court; it can summon individuals, examine them on oath, and require the production of documents. Once its findings are recorded, the report goes to the employer within 10 days and is shared with both parties.

If harassment is proven, the IC recommends action in line with the company's service rules, which vary by organisation. Either party can appeal in court within 90 days of the outcome.

What employers are required to do

The POSH Act places significant obligations on employers that go beyond simply setting up a committee. Companies must:

• Display the penalties for sexual harassment prominently in the workplace

• Organise awareness workshops and sensitisation programmes for employees

• File annual compliance reports with the relevant authority

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Non-compliance carries consequences. Employers who fail to meet their obligations under the Act can be fined up to ₹50,000. Repeated violations can result in the cancellation of business licences, a provision that signals the law's intent to treat non-compliance as a serious institutional failure, not merely a procedural lapse.

What the Nashik case suggests about where the system failed

The POSH framework is only as effective as the institution implementing it. In the TCS Nashik case, the alleged failure was not in the law itself but in how, or whether, it was applied.

Victims claimed that complaints spanning February 2022 to March 2026 went unaddressed despite repeated escalation through internal channels. Police, while seeking custody of senior manager Ashwini Ashok Chainani, argued that timely action on those complaints could have prevented the situation from escalating to where it did.

The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has since approached the Ministry of Labour and Employment, calling for a detailed audit of TCS's compliance with POSH norms and a review of how past complaints were handled. The organisation has also sought accountability from management for the failure to ensure workplace safety.`