Section 3 of the POSH Act – Limitation for Complaint

Section 9 of the Act to submit that the same prescribes a limitation of three months from the alleged harassment, for making a complaint   The second proviso thereto, vests discretion in the Committee to extend the time limit if it is satisfied that there were circumstances which prevented the complainant/aggrieved woman from filing complaint within the period of limitation, but by a maximum of three months.

In the present case the complaint and statement of the complainant before the ICC does not disclose any incident after July 2022.

A plain reading of the allegations discloses that the incident of sexual harassment was continuing, as per allegations made in the complaint, till July 2022. Thereafter, the complainant states 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 apprehension is stated in the complaint to be three months after the last incident (July 2022). Therefore, the apprehension as per the complaint arose in October 2022. The complaint is lodged within three months thereafter, i.e., January 2023.

If such apprehension in the mind of the aggrieved woman constitutes sexual harassment as per Section 3 (n) of the Act, then the complaint lodged in January 2023 would be considered within time.

The Act does not mention or contemplate a sexual harassment based on apprehension of sexual harassment in the mind of a complainant to constitute sexual harassment for the purposes of making of a complaint under the Act, let alone a report being submitted, recommending action under the Act, as was done in the present case

Judgment dated 31.8.2026 of the Division Bench of the High Court at Calcutta (Civil Appellate Jurisdiction)(Appellate Side) in WPST No.250 of 2025 of State of West Bengal and others    Vs.   Lala Mir and others