POSH Act, 2013 · Section 21

Section 21 of the POSH Act: the committee’s annual report

Under section 21, the Internal Committee, or the Local Committee, must prepare an annual report in each calendar year. It goes to the employer and the District Officer. The District Officer sends a brief report on these to the State Government. Rule 14 of the 2013 Rules lists five details the report must contain. Neither the Act nor the 2013 Rules sets a date for it.

Written by Manas Editorial Team · Last updated · Checked against the official text

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The official text

What does section 21 say?

Section 21, word for word from India Code, with the employer’s matching duty in section 19(j).

Section 21
21. Committee to submit annual report.— (1) The Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall in each calendar year prepare, in such form and at such time as may be prescribed, an annual report and submit the same to the employer and the District Officer.
(2) The District Officer shall forward a brief report on the annual reports received under sub-section (1) to the State Government.
Source: India Code PDF ↗, page 12
Section 19 (extract)
19. Duties of employer.— Every employer shall— […]
(b) display at any conspicuous place in the workplace, the penal consequences of sexual harassments; and the order constituting, the Internal Committee under sub-section (1) of section 4;
(c) organise workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitising the employees with the provisions of the Act and orientation programmes for the members of the Internal Committee in the manner as may be prescribed; […]
(j) monitor the timely submission of reports by the Internal Committee.
Source: India Code PDF ↗, pages 11 and 12
In plain words

What does section 21 mean in plain words?

Who writes it. The committee writes the report, not HR. In a company, that is the Internal Committee. In a district, the Local Committee writes its own.

How often. Once “in each calendar year”. In our reading, it covers the calendar year, January to December. A company’s Board’s Report runs on the financial year instead, so the two sets of figures can differ. See the Board’s Report rule.

Who gets it. Two people: the employer and the District Officer. The District Officer then sends a short summary of all the reports to the State Government.

What goes in. The Act leaves the form and timing to the Rules. Rule 14 of the 2013 Rules lists five details. See Rule 14 in full.

When. The Act says “at such time as may be prescribed”. The 2013 Rules list the contents but give no date. Check whether your State Government or District Officer has asked for a date.

The employer’s part. Section 19(j) asks the employer to “monitor the timely submission of reports”. So you should know when your committee files, and keep a copy.

Employer checklist

What should the employer do about section 21?

  • Ask your committee to prepare one report for each calendar year, January to December.
  • Check it covers the five details in Rule 14, including the number of workshops held.
  • Make sure it reaches both you and the District Officer, and keep proof of delivery.
  • Find out who your District Officer is (section 5) before the report is due.
  • Keep the complaint register up to date all year, so the numbers are easy to count.
  • Put a reminder in your calendar: section 19(j) makes timely submission your duty to monitor.
  • Use the same register for your own annual report under section 22.
The numbers

Which numbers matter for the section 21 report?

From section 21 and Rule 14 of the POSH Rules, 2013, checked 20 October 2026.
Frequency1 report in each calendar yearSection 21(1)
PeriodJanuary to December (our reading)“in each calendar year”, section 21(1)
Recipients2: the employer and the District OfficerSection 21(1)
Onward reportDistrict Officer to the State GovernmentSection 21(2)
Contents5 detailsRule 14(a) to (e)
Pending cases countedThose pending for more than 90 daysRule 14(c)
Due dateNot set in the Act or the 2013 RulesSection 21(1) leaves it to the Rules; Rule 14 sets contents only
Inquiry time limit behind each case90 daysSection 11(4); a case open longer shows up under Rule 14(c)
Inquiry report to the employerWithin 10 days of finishing the inquirySection 13(1)
Employer acts on findingsWithin 60 daysSection 13(4); this is the “action taken” in Rule 14(e)
Court rulings

Have courts ruled on section 21?

We have not found a reported Supreme Court ruling that interprets section 21 (checked 20 October 2026). The Court has, however, pressed employers on the duties that feed this report.

Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (2023)

The Court directed that “The authorities/management/employers shall regularly conduct orientation programmes, workshops, seminars and awareness programmes” for committee members and women employees (paragraph 77(v)). The number of workshops held is one of the five details in the annual report. (Judgment of 12 May 2023 ↗)

In the same judgment the Court found “serious lapses in the enforcement of the Act” (paragraph 75).

Questions

Which questions do employers ask about section 21?

Who prepares the section 21 annual report?
The Internal Committee prepares it for its workplace. A Local Committee prepares its own for complaints it handled. The employer’s job is to make sure it is submitted on time (section 19(j)).
Who receives the annual report?
The employer and the District Officer (section 21(1)). The District Officer then forwards a brief report on all the reports received to the State Government (section 21(2)).
Is there a deadline for the section 21 report?
The Act says it is prepared each calendar year “at such time as may be prescribed”. The 2013 Rules prescribe the contents but no date. Check for instructions from your State Government or District Officer.
Do we need a report if there were no complaints?
Yes. The duty is to prepare a report “in each calendar year”, with or without complaints. It still records zero complaints and the workshops held (Rule 14).
Is the section 21 report the same as the employer’s annual report?
No. Section 21 is the committee’s report to the employer and District Officer. Section 22 is the employer’s own annual report, which must state the number of cases and their disposal.
How Manas helps

How does Manas prepare the section 21 report?

Our portal keeps the committee’s complaint register and generates the section 21 annual report from it, with the Rule 14 details, for the committee to review and submit. Dr. Priya Dubey Sharma, Founder & Consulting Psychologist, serves as the external member on client committees. See how it works on our POSH compliance page, or run the free 2-minute committee check. For more answers, read the POSH FAQ.

Sources

Where does this page come from?

Last checked against these sources on . The Act’s text is reproduced with our commentary (Copyright Act, 1957, s.52(1)(q)(ii)); Gazette rules and court judgments under s.52(1)(q)(i) and (iv). General information, not legal advice. Manas is not a law firm.

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