Indian Workplace Law / Statutory Rules
POSH Rules, 2013 — Interactive Explorer
Explore the Rules. Understand Their Application.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 provide prescribed details for implementing specific provisions of the POSH Act.
They address committee-related allowances, complaint arrangements, inquiry procedure, interim measures, actions following findings, confidentiality-related penalties, awareness programmes and annual reporting.
Explore the fourteen Rules individually, read their official wording and understand how each relates to the Act and relevant practical guidance.
Original Central Rules notified through G.S.R. 769(E), dated 9 December 2013. PIH explanations, navigation groups and explanatory maps are separate from the official text. Source-printing irregularities are identified beside the affected Rules.
How the Rules Work With the POSH Act
The POSH Act establishes the principal statutory duties, institutional arrangements, protections and procedures. The Rules prescribe details for particular matters identified by the Act.
Section 11 provides the statutory inquiry framework, while Rule 7 addresses the prescribed manner of inquiry in the circumstances to which it applies. Section 19 establishes employer duties, while Rule 13 specifies further measures concerning policy dissemination, awareness and committee orientation. Section 21 concerns the Committee’s annual report, while Rule 14 identifies prescribed reporting information.
- ActEnabling statutory provision.
- RulesRelated prescribed detail.
- Practical implementationRelevant organisational or procedural application.
These relationships matter because the Act and Rules should be read together, without confusing one legal provision with another. The Rules are not an independent substitute for the Act, applicable service rules or other current laws.
Browse All Fourteen Rules
Subject groups are PIH navigation aids, not official Gazette chapters. Search stays in your browser.
14 of 14 Rules
- 01Foundations and definitions
Rule 1 — Short title and commencement
Rule 1 gives the Rules their formal name and provides for commencement on publication in the Official Gazette.
Related Act: Section 29, Section 1 - 02Foundations and definitions
Rule 2 — Definitions
Rule 2 defines expressions used in the Rules and adopts Act meanings for other Act-defined terms, unless the context requires otherwise.
Related Act: Section 2, Section 9 - 03Committee membership and allowances
Rule 3 — Fees or allowances for Member of Internal Committee
Rule 3 specifies a ₹200 daily allowance and stated travel reimbursement for the described NGO-appointed IC member, payable by the employer.
Related Act: Section 4 - 04Committee membership and allowances
Rule 4 — Person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment
Rule 4 describes relevant expertise for Local Committee membership under Section 7(1)(c), a different provision from IC external membership.
Related Act: Section 7 - 05Committee membership and allowances
Rule 5 — Fees or allowances for Chairperson and Members of Local Committee
Rule 5 specifies Local Committee allowances, member-category exclusions and travel terms, with payment assigned to the District Officer.
Related Act: Section 7 - 06Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 6 — Complaint of sexual harassment
Rule 6 identifies who may complain in four specified situations involving the aggrieved woman’s inability to complain herself or her death.
Related Act: Section 9 - 07Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 7 — Manner of inquiry into complaint
Rule 7 prescribes inquiry steps and safeguards, subject to Section 11, covering materials, replies, fairness, absence and Committee presence.
Related Act: Section 11, Section 9, Section 16 - 08Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 8 — Other relief to complainant during pendency of inquiry
Rule 8 allows specified protective recommendations during a pending inquiry on the aggrieved woman’s written request, within Section 12.
Related Act: Section 12 - 09Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 9 — Manner of taking action for sexual harassment
Rule 9 identifies action that may be recommended after an allegation is found proved where the relevant service rules do not exist.
Related Act: Section 13, Section 15 - 10Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 10 — Action for false or malicious complaint or false evidence
Rule 10 concerns specified malicious or knowingly false complaint-making or forged or misleading documents, subject to Section 14’s safeguards.
Related Act: Section 14 - 11Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 11 — Appeal
Rule 11 addresses the prescribed appeal route under Section 18 and retains a 1946 Act reference that requires current-law and service-rule review.
Related Act: Section 18 - 12Complaints, inquiry and procedural consequences
Rule 12 — Penalty for contravention of provisions of section 16
Rule 12 provides for employer recovery of ₹5,000 for a Section 16 contravention, within Section 17’s actor and service-rule framework.
Related Act: Section 16, Section 17 - 13Employer awareness and annual reporting
Rule 13 — Manner to organise workshops, etc.
Rule 13 specifies employer measures for policy dissemination, employee awareness, IC orientation, capacity-building and member information.
Related Act: Section 19 - 14Employer awareness and annual reporting
Rule 14 — Preparation of annual report
Rule 14 specifies five information categories for the Committee’s Section 21 annual report, distinct from the employer’s Section 22 reporting.
Related Act: Section 21, Section 22
Read the Act and Rules Together
A Rule may prescribe how an obligation operates, but its scope remains connected to the enabling Act provision. Begin with the official wording, identify the relevant Act provision and consider applicable service rules or other current legal requirements. Practical guidance does not replace the original source.
About This Legal Reference
This Explorer separates the original Rules from PIH’s explanatory material. Official statutory wording is a legal source; plain-English explanations are editorial guidance intended to assist understanding. ‘Section’ refers to the Act; ‘Rule’ refers to this separate legal instrument.
Where another law, a relevant legal development or an organisation’s service rules may affect application, those considerations are identified separately. Rule 11 retains its original 1946 statutory reference and explains the later repeal, savings and continuity context; the applicable appeal forum still requires current, case-specific verification.
Availability of this publication requires recorded legal review of this version and separate publication authorisation. It does not certify every current-law application or an organisation’s compliance.
Original Central Rules: G.S.R. 769(E), 9 December 2013. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. Source version: G.S.R. 769(E), dated 9 December 2013; Gazette of India, Part II, Section 3(i); English text, Gazette pages 4–6 (PDF pages 1–3 of the Ministry extract).
Ministry Gazette copy (PDF) · Government-hosted comparison copy (PDF)
Heading separators, line wrapping and indentation are adapted for screen reading. Source-printing anomalies are preserved and identified in separate PIH transcription notes; those notes are not part of the statutory text.
Official wording and PIH editorial explanation are separate layers. This reference provides general legal information; a particular employment relationship, complaint or inquiry may require qualified advice.