Internal Committee (IC)

The Internal Committee (IC) — earlier called the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) — is a statutory body constituted under Section 4 of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013. Every employer with 10 or more employees is legally required to form an IC at each office or branch location.

Composition requirements under the Act: the IC must have at least four members, including a Presiding Officer (a senior woman employee), at least two employees committed to women's causes, and one external member (typically from an NGO or legal background working in the field of gender rights). Women must constitute at least 50% of the IC's membership.

The IC's mandate is specific and time-bound: it must complete the inquiry into a complaint within 90 days of receipt, submit findings to the employer within 10 days of inquiry completion, and recommend action to the employer. The IC also files an Annual POSH Compliance Report with the District Officer.

IC members require mandatory training under the Act — covering inquiry procedures, evidence handling, natural justice principles, and trauma-informed interaction with complainants. Untrained IC members expose the organisation to the same legal risk as having no IC at all. Aktrea provides dedicated IC sensitisation programmes and POSH training for all employee levels.