No ICC? Filing a POSH complaint with the Local Committee

In India, if your workplace has no Internal Committee (often called the ICC) because it has fewer than ten workers, your complaint is against the employer, or you are a domestic worker, a POSH complaint goes to your district’s Local Committee (LC). You can hand the written complaint to the LC or to your area’s nodal officer.

When a POSH complaint goes to the Local Committee

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 (the POSH Act) and the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s handbook describe three situations:

• Small workplaces: no Internal Committee because there are fewer than ten workers (section 6).
• The employer: the complaint is against the employer, such as the owner.
• Domestic work: complaints from domestic workers, as the Act covers women employed in a house.

District Officer and nodal officer: where to hand it in

The District Officer is a District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate, Collector or Deputy Collector notified for the district. The District Officer, not your employer, constitutes the LC, nominates its members and designates a nodal officer for every block, taluka and tehsil, and every urban ward or municipality. The nodal officer receives complaints and must forward them to the LC within seven days.

The Ministry’s SHe-Box portal listed 777 district LCs in March 2026; States and Union Territories have been urged to update LC, District Officer and nodal officer details there.

What to note for a Local Committee complaint

Our POSH complaint format guide covers what to include. For the LC, also note the workplace’s district and block, taluka, tehsil, ward or municipality, why it goes to the LC, and a phone number where the committee can reach you privately.

Invented example, not a real person or workplace: “Monday 3 August 2026, about 7:10 pm, back office of the coaching centre where I am the receptionist, one of seven staff. The owner, P, put his hand on my waist and said, ‘Stay back after closing, just the two of us.’ I moved away. The accountant was at the front desk. Thursday 13 August, 11 am: gave my complaint to the taluka nodal officer and asked her to sign and date my copy.”

If you cannot write it yourself, the LC’s Chairperson or any member must give reasonable help (section 9). The free incident log template can help you draft each incident.

After you file: conciliation and the inquiry

Before an inquiry, the LC may try conciliation only at your request, and a monetary settlement cannot be its basis (section 10); the handbook adds that the formal route stays your choice. If a settlement is recorded, there is no inquiry unless you report that the respondent has not kept its terms. The inquiry should be completed within 90 days, and the report goes to the employer or District Officer within ten days, shared with both parties. For a domestic worker, the LC is to forward the complaint to the police within seven days if it finds a prima facie case (section 11).

Checklist: what to do and when

1. Today: write down the latest incident and save related messages, including your own replies.
2. This week: find the LC or nodal officer for your area through SHe-Box or the District Officer’s office.
3. Within three months of the last incident: hand in the complaint and keep a dated copy. The LC can extend this by up to three months if circumstances prevented you from filing.
4. Seven days after giving it to a nodal officer: check it has reached the LC; note the date.
5. After that: record each notice, call and hearing date.

If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services first. Kirokune keeps notes, photos and imported chats in date order on your iPhone and can export a PDF (a Kirokune Plus feature) when you decide to share. It does not file anything; the Local Committee and the people you consult make the decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I file a POSH complaint if my company has fewer than 10 employees?

With the Local Committee (also called the Local Complaints Committee, or LCC) of your district. Section 6 of the POSH Act says the Local Committee receives complaints from establishments that have no Internal Committee because they have fewer than ten workers. You can also give the complaint to the nodal officer for your block, taluka, tehsil, ward or municipality, who must forward it to the Local Committee within seven days.

Can I file a sexual harassment complaint with the District Officer?

Under the POSH Act, the written complaint goes to the Local Committee, which the District Officer sets up, or to a nodal officer the District Officer designates. The Local Committee’s report goes to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be, who is to act on its recommendations within 60 days. The District Officer also monitors whether the Local Committee submits its reports on time.

Can a domestic worker file a complaint under the POSH Act?

The Act’s definition of a workplace includes a dwelling place or house, and it covers a woman of any age employed there. The Ministry’s handbook lists domestic workers among those whose complaints go to the Local Committee. If the Local Committee finds a prima facie case, the Act says it is to forward the complaint to the police within seven days.

Kirokune helps you keep a record. It does not diagnose, decide what happened, or give legal advice.