Bombay HC – Bombay HC – POSH Inquiry Report carries full weight as Inquiry Report for major penalty

Judgment dated 24.3.2026 of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.3224 of 2024 (OS) of Arun A. Iyer  Vs.  The Board of Governors, IIT, Bobay and others.

The petitioner requested for remand of proceedings to Internal Complaints Committee / Disciplinary Authority for fresh inquiry before imposing major penalty.

In this case, ICC conducted the inquiry under the POSH Act &  Rules and recommended imposition of major penalty of removal from service to the Disciplinary Authority.

Accordingly, the major penalty of compulsory retirement was imposed on the petitioner.

This was challenged on the ground that a separate inquiry under the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, was necessary to impose major penalty.

In that context, it was HELD that the provisions of the IIT Bobay Policy / Attendant Rules framed under the IIT Act, clearly provide that its exhaustive procedure would prevail over Rule 14(2) of the CCS (CCA) Rules and that, the ICC report shall be treated as the inquiry report for imposing penalty.

Before parting, we may observe that in the case of special statutes like the present and the Rules framed thereunder, a party like the Petitioner has participated duly and fully in a comprehensive inquiry. This is right from the report of the ICC, Show Cause Notice/Memorandum, Reply resulting in the Impugned Order. The statutory scheme under the POSH Act, POSH Rules read with the IIT Act, IIT Bombay Statutes, IIT Bombay Policy/Attendant Rules do not contemplate the rigmarole of another inquiry, on the very same subject matter