Internal Complaint Committee Cannot Entertain Complaints Filed Beyond Three Month Limitation Period Under POSH Act: J&K High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that an authority under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 lacks the jurisdiction to act upon and decide complaints filed beyond the condonable limitation period of three months, as provided under the second proviso to Section 9 of the Act. Assailing the proceedings before the High Court the petitioner contended that the ICC's proceedings were legally untenable as the complaint was filed beyond the three-month limitation period prescribed under Section 9 of the POSH Act. The ICC's failure to record reasons for condoning this delay rendered its actions without jurisdiction the court stated and explained that the authority under the POSH Act has no power to act upon a complaint filed beyond the condonable limitation period of three months as mandated by the statute itself. “Under these circumstances, the complaint filed by respondent 4 herein against the petitioner herein under the Act of 2013 on 16th of October 2017 regarding an alleged incident dated 25th of April 2016 indisputably could not have been either entertained or else taken cognizance of by the ICC and dealt with thereafter”, the court remarked.