A woman experiences harassment at work. This is exactly where POSH and criminal law both come into play: does she file a complaint with her Internal Committee, or does she go to the police? Many people assume it has to be one or the other. It does not.
Moreover, understanding how POSH and criminal law actually work together, rather than against each other, changes how both employees and employers should think about a serious incident. Therefore, this is not really a choice between two options. It is a question of which tracks apply, and whether to run one or both.
Request a demo today to see how our POSH compliance solutions can help your organization stay compliant and build a safer workplace.
What You’ll Learn in This Guide
This article covers:
- Why POSH and criminal law are two fully separate legal tracks
- What BNS Section 75 actually punishes
- Why the filing deadlines look so different between the two
- What each process can and cannot deliver
- A real case where both tracks ran on the same facts
POSH and Criminal Law: Two Separate Tracks, Not One or the Other
An Internal Committee complaint and a police FIR are entirely independent proceedings. Filing one does not bar the other, and dropping one does not affect the other. Consequently, a woman can pursue both at the same time if the conduct warrants it.
What BNS Section 75 Actually Covers
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, replaced the old IPC Section 354A on July 1, 2024. Under BNS Section 75, physical contact and advances, a demand for sexual favours, and showing pornography against a woman’s will carry up to three years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine, or both. Sexually coloured remarks alone, under Section 75(2), carry up to one year of imprisonment, a fine, or both. Moreover, stalking sits under a separate provision, BNS Section 78, and outraging modesty through words or gestures remains punishable too.
Why the Limitation Periods Are So Different
A POSH complaint must reach the Internal Committee within three months of the incident, extendable by another three months for sufficient reason. Criminal law works differently. Depending on the specific offence, the window for filing can run considerably longer than the POSH Act’s own limitation period. Therefore, missing the POSH filing window does not necessarily mean losing the criminal option too.
POSH and Criminal Law: Filing Both Without Undermining Either
Running both tracks does create real complexity. The same witnesses may give slightly different accounts before the Internal Committee and before the police, simply because the two processes ask different questions. However, this does not weaken either case on its own. The Internal Committee is expected to rely strictly on its own evidence and inquiry, not on how the criminal case happens to be going.
What the Employer Must Do If You Choose the Criminal Route
Under Section 19, the employer has a specific duty to assist a woman who wants to pursue a criminal complaint, regardless of whether the perpetrator is even a fellow employee. This obligation sits alongside, not instead of, the employer’s other POSH duties already covered elsewhere on this site.
Can the Same Incident Really Produce Two Different Outcomes?
Yes, and that is by design. The POSH process can result in a warning, transfer, or termination, based on a domestic-inquiry standard of proof. The criminal process, if it proceeds, can result in arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment, based on the much higher criminal standard. Consequently, an outcome in one process does not automatically dictate the outcome in the other.
A Real Case Where Both Tracks Ran at Once
In a matter that eventually reached the Supreme Court, an FIR was registered under IPC Sections 354, 354D, 506, and 509, with a chargesheet later filed. A separate POSH complaint over the same incident was then filed with the Internal Committee at the woman’s own department. The Supreme Court’s later ruling in that matter, discussed in more detail in our guide to the POSH appeal process, focused on the Internal Committee’s jurisdiction specifically, while the criminal case continued on its own separate timeline throughout.
POSH and Criminal Law: What Each Process Can Actually Deliver
Neither process is a replacement for the other. The POSH process protects the workplace and can be faster. The criminal process carries real punitive weight but moves on its own, often slower, timeline. Therefore, the right combination depends entirely on what the complainant is trying to achieve.
Practical Checklist Before You Decide
- Confirm whether the conduct falls within the three-month POSH filing window, or needs an extension request
- Understand that filing with the IC does not use up your right to also file an FIR
- Ask the employer directly what assistance they will provide if you choose the criminal route
- Keep your own timeline and evidence, since each process will ask for it separately
Common Mistakes People Make Choosing Between the Two
- Assuming an FIR replaces the need for a POSH complaint, when the two serve different purposes
- Believing a dismissed POSH complaint ends the criminal option too
- Letting inconsistent statements slip between the two separate processes
- Assuming the employer has no role once the police get involved
Request a demo today to see how our POSH compliance solutions can help your organization stay compliant and build a safer workplace.
POSH Compliance Services for Committees Handling Parallel Cases
Many organizations bring in POSH compliance services specifically to help committees manage a case correctly when a parallel criminal complaint is also underway. Learn more about how our team approaches this on our About Us page, or get in touch with us directly to talk through a specific situation.
Conclusion: POSH and Criminal Law Are Not Competing Options
In conclusion, POSH and criminal law exist to do different jobs, not to compete for the same complaint. Moreover, courts have consistently treated an Internal Committee inquiry as no substitute for criminal prosecution where the conduct genuinely warrants it. Therefore, understanding both tracks, and how they run independently, gives everyone involved a clearer, more accurate picture of what their options actually are.
Request a demo today and discover how our expert-led POSH compliance services can help your organization stay compliant, reduce risk, and build a safer workplace.
