Ch. V · §16
Chapter V
Inquiry & Relief
Section
Chapter V · Inquiry & Relief
Section 16
Prohibition of publication or making known contents of complaint and inquiry proceedings
Transcribed from the official India Code source for reading and comparison. PIH plain-language guidance is editorial and separate; this page is not legal advice.
Plain Language
The complaint, the identities of all parties and witnesses, inquiry proceedings, committee recommendations, and the action taken cannot be published or communicated to the public, press, or media in any manner.
This is a strict statutory confidentiality duty that operates notwithstanding the Right to Information Act, 2005, subject to the narrow justice-secured exception in the proviso.
The only exception is that information about justice secured may be disseminated, but without disclosing the name, address, identity, or any other particulars that could identify the aggrieved woman or witnesses.
Section 17 is a distinct penalty provision: its statutory penalty framework applies to a person entrusted with a duty to handle or deal with the complaint, inquiry, recommendations or action who contravenes Section 16.
PIH confidentiality and privacy best practice is broader: access, circulation and discussion should be restricted to authorised need-to-know participants even where the Section 17 statutory penalty framework may not apply.
Why It Matters
Confidentiality is a statutory duty, not a best-practice suggestion. Every person involved in the complaint process is bound by it.
Breaches of confidentiality can deter women from filing complaints, defeating the purpose of the Act.
The override of the RTI Act is significant — the legislature prioritised complainant protection over transparency in this specific context.
Confidentiality extends to every stage: the complaint, conciliation, inquiry, recommendations, and final action.
Practical Example
Unauthorised disclosure
Scenario: An IC member discusses the details of an ongoing complaint with a colleague who is not on the committee.
Outcome: This is a breach of Section 16. The complaint details, including the identities of parties, cannot be communicated to anyone outside the authorised process.
Press release with identities
Scenario: The employer issues a press release stating that an employee was terminated following a sexual harassment inquiry, naming the employee.
Outcome: This violates Section 16. Even the action taken cannot be published with identifying details. The employer may only state that justice was secured without identifying anyone.
RTI request
Scenario: An RTI applicant seeks copies of an inquiry report and committee recommendations.
Outcome: Section 16 overrides the RTI Act in this matter. The information cannot be disclosed under RTI as it falls under the confidentiality protection of the POSH Act.
Who Must Act
employer
- Limit circulation, storage access, and internal gossip around complaint records.
- Ensure HR, legal, and management personnel with access understand the confidentiality obligation.
- Do not disclose complaint outcomes in a manner that identifies parties or witnesses.
ic member
- Maintain strict confidentiality around the complaint, evidence, proceedings, and recommendations.
- Ensure minutes, evidence packets, and report-sharing workflows all respect Section 16.
- Do not discuss committee matters with persons outside the authorised process.
employee
- Do not publicly share complaint details, identities, or proceedings on social media or with the press.
- Understand that confidentiality protects all parties, including the respondent.
Compliance
Do not publish, communicate, or make known complaint details, identities, or proceedings to the public, press, or media
Actor: All persons involved in the complaint process · Rule: Section 16
Limit disclosure to information about justice secured, without identifying the aggrieved woman or witnesses
Actor: All persons involved in the complaint process · Rule: Section 16, Proviso
Implement document security and access controls for complaint records
Actor: Employer · Rule: Section 16
Apply broader need-to-know access and privacy controls as an organisational best practice
Actor: Employer
Common Mistakes
Discussing complaint details informally with colleagues who are not on the committee or in the authorised chain.
Issuing internal communications or memos that identify parties to a complaint.
Assuming that the RTI Act overrides confidentiality obligations — it does not; Section 16 expressly overrides RTI.
Publishing the outcome of disciplinary action in a manner that identifies the parties.
Treating the Section 17 statutory penalty as automatically applicable to every person with any connection to the matter, regardless of whether that person was entrusted with a specified complaint-related duty.
Practical PIH resources
These are separate PIH editorial, training, or support destinations. They are not substitutes for the official Act source or a statutory complaint forum.
Source & Status
- Official source
- India Code, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India
- Source version
- India Code PDF — last updated 31 August 2021
- Source location
- India Code PDF, p. 11
- Retrieved
Statutory blocks are kept separate from PIH plain-language and operational guidance. The reading copy is not legal advice.
Legal review status: counsel-reviewed. All sections have valid documentary counsel evidence and publication signals are enabled.
Judicial material: no verified judicial interpretation is published in this reading copy. Judicial analysis is a separate layer from the statutory transcription and PIH editorial guidance.