Constitution and jurisdiction of Local Committee

Section OverviewPending legal verification

The District Officer shall constitute a committee to be known as the Local Complaints Committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment from establishments where the Internal Complaints Committee has not been constituted due to having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself.

The complaints referred to under sub-section (1) may be forwarded to the Local Committee through the Nodal Officer.

Temporary structural and explanatory content only; it is not a verbatim reproduction. Complete statutory text and legal commentary will be integrated after separate legal verification.

Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of IndiaRetrieved: 2024-01-15

Plain Language

The Local Committee (LC) is the complaint forum for two situations: workplaces with fewer than ten workers where no IC exists, and complaints where the respondent is the employer.

The District Officer is responsible for constituting the LC. This is not optional — it is a statutory duty once the District Officer is notified.

Complaints can reach the LC through the Nodal Officer network established under Section 5, providing a structured intake mechanism.

Why It Matters

Without the Local Committee, workers in small establishments and those complaining against their employer would have no statutory complaint forum. The LC fills this critical gap.

The explicit coverage of complaints against the employer ensures that the employer cannot use the IC mechanism — which they control — to adjudicate complaints against themselves.

This section is the jurisdictional gateway. If the LC receives a complaint that should have gone to an IC, or vice versa, procedural challenges can follow.

Practical Example

Scenario: A woman working at a small retail shop with five employees is harassed by the shop owner.

Outcome: The shop has fewer than ten workers and the complaint is against the employer. The Local Committee is the appropriate forum. The woman can approach the Nodal Officer or the LC directly.

Scenario: An employee at a large company wants to complain against the managing director who is also the employer.

Outcome: Even though the company has an IC, the complaint against the employer goes to the Local Committee, because the IC is constituted by the employer and cannot impartially adjudicate a complaint against the person who appointed it.

Who Must Act

district officer

Constitute the Local Complaints Committee for the district.
Ensure the LC is functional and accessible for complaints from small establishments and against employers.

employee

Know whether your workplace has fewer than ten workers or whether the complaint is against the employer — in either case, the Local Committee is the forum.
Use the Nodal Officer network to forward complaints if direct access to the LC is difficult.

Compliance

✓

Constitute the Local Complaints Committee to receive complaints from small establishments and against employers

Actor: District Officer · Rule: Section 6(1)

Common Mistakes

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Assuming the IC can handle a complaint against the employer — such complaints must go to the Local Committee.

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Believing that workplaces with fewer than ten workers have no complaint forum — the LC exists precisely for this situation.

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Confusing the District Officer's role with the LC's role — the District Officer constitutes and supports the LC, but the LC adjudicates.

Source & Status

This page contains temporary structural and explanatory content, not a verbatim reproduction of the Act.

Source: Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India

Publication status: Temporary content pending separate legal verification