State Duty To Ensure Effective PoSH Act Implementation Central: Madras High Court Records State-Wide Compliance From Gender Audit Squads To IC Portals
Isabella Mariam
The High Court of Madras at Madurai, Single Bench of Justice Dr R.N. Manjula recorded that the State of Tamil Nadu has effectively implemented its earlier directions to secure meaningful enforcement of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act across establishments. The petitions, brought by women employees against the State and a public sector corporation, concerned allegations of workplace sexual harassment and deficiencies in complaints mechanisms and safeguards mandated under the statute. Noting that the government has shown strong interest in complying with the Court’s orders and positioning Tamil Nadu as a model for other States, the Court accepted the detailed compliance report, directed the Chief Secretary to circulate this order to all concerned departments, and disposed of the writ petitions.
The three writ petitions were filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by employees challenging separate service orders issued by a government Ayurveda medical institution and a public sector corporation, including termination and adverse disciplinary decisions, and seeking both service benefits and action against certain officials through an independent enquiry mechanism. The matters came to be considered together, and in a detailed order dated 21 November 2024 the Court addressed broader systemic issues relating to workplace conduct and complaint mechanisms under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, including the need for institutional structures, monitoring and funding arrangements.
Pursuant to that order, the State Government, primarily through the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, placed on record status and compliance reports. These included issuance of a ten-part Standard Operating Procedure by G.O.Ms.No.64 dated 19 June 2025, data on constitution and online listing of Internal Committees in government and private establishments, labour department survey figures on Internal Complaints Committees, and appointment of nodal officers and inspection mechanisms by G.O.(Ms).No.65 dated 18 June 2025. Additional material included proposals under the TN We-SAFE Project, prior child-safety guidelines, details of an existing State Level Technical Committee on gender sensitisation, references to conduct and service rules, and submissions on the present remit of the Social Welfare Department.
The Court recorded that “various steps have been taken by the State Government towards complying the orders” and that the directions “demonstrate the commitment of the State parties to prevent discrimination against women.” The Court further recorded that the suggestions received from departments “reflect the realisation at all level that the new measures and the measures already in place need to be shaped better in order to achieve the desired object.”
Regarding the State’s rule-making power under the PoSH Act, the Court noted that the fourth respondent stated that “in view of the limited rule making powers given to the state under the PoSH Act, they are not able to frame rules” but had issued an exhaustive Standard Operating Procedure through G.O.Ms.No.64 dated 19.06.2025.
It was recorded that 22,044 Internal Committees were formed in government establishments and 34,907 in private establishments, totalling 56,951, and that details of 41,103 committees had been uploaded in the PoSH portal. The Labour Commissionerate surveyed 1,84,072 establishments and the Court recorded that “Internal Complaints Committees have been constituted in 6,196 establishments, while 13,873 establishments are in the process of constituting such Committees.”
The Court stated that nodal officers had been designated and that inspection mechanisms were strengthened through G.O.(Ms) No.65 dated 18.06.2025 directing monitoring of workplace PoSH compliance. The Court recorded proposals for strengthening the 181 helpline, software improvements, district gender audit squads and expansion of industry coalition initiatives.
The Court recorded that a State Level Technical Committee was already in place and was undertaking sensitisation programmes and preparing modules. It was also recorded that various departments offered suggestions including “panic buttons in buses,” “modular office formats with glass walls,” and “dismissal clauses in appointment orders.”
The Court further observed that TNPSC, TNUSRB, MRB and TRB had included gender-sensitisation components in recruitment examinations, and that departmental tests had incorporated PoSH Act provisions.
The Court recorded that although safeguards existed in statutes and service rules, the State had opted for a “persuasive approach to ensure gender sensitivity in work places,” while adding that failure of such efforts may require “a shift from convincing efforts and compulsive actions.”
In concluding observations, the Court recorded that “the overall response and interest shown by the State Government in implementing the directions is no doubt commendable” and that the State had demonstrated a commitment “with several of its actions taken towards complying the orders.”
The Court recorded that “apart from the steps already taken, the State has undertaken to continue its actions to realise the object of the PoSH Act. The State Government has demonstrated its commitment with several of its actions taken towards complying the orders passed in these writ petitions on various dates starting from 21.11.2024.”
“All the three Writ Petitions are disposed by recording the report submitted by the State Respondent in this regard. The Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, is directed to circulate a copy of this order to the Secretaries of the Departments concerned. No costs. The connected miscellaneous petition in WMP. (MD) No.12247 of 2024 is closed.”
Advocates Representing the Parties
For the Petitioners:Mr. Niranjan S. Kumar, Mr. K. Vamanan.
For the Respondents: Mr. Ajmal Khan, AAG assisted by Aswini Devi K., AGP; Mr. V. Chandrasekaran, SPCCGSC; M/s. J.R. Annie Abinaya, GA; Mr. S. Rajakumar, APP
Case Title: Dr. Supraja v. State of Tamil Nadu & Others (with connected matters of Dr. Resmi M. Nair and L.C. Vanitha)
Neutral Citation: 2025: MHC:2697
Case Number: W.P.(MD) Nos.13981, 9747 & 12601 of 2024
Bench: Justice Dr. R.N. Manjula
