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Dr. Sohail Malik vs. Union of India

Not available · 2025 INSC 1415Decided 10 Dec 2025
Not available
Justice J.K. Maheshwari · Justice Vijay Bishnoi

Background

The appellant, an IRS officer posted at the Central Board of Direct Taxes, was accused by a woman IAS officer of sexually harassing her at her own workplace, which belonged to a different government department. A criminal FIR was registered against him, and separately, the woman filed a workplace-harassment complaint under the POSH Act before the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) constituted at her own department. The appellant challenged the ICC's jurisdiction, arguing that only the ICC at his own department (where he was actually employed) could inquire into a complaint against him. Both the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court rejected this challenge, leading to the present appeal before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the POSH Act's definition of "workplace" is deliberately broad and must be read in light of the law's purpose as social welfare legislation protecting women. It does not require the complainant and the accused to belong to the same department. Reading Sections 11 and 13 of the Act together with a 2015 government office memorandum, the Court held that inquiry proceeds in two stages: first, a fact-finding/preliminary inquiry that may validly be conducted by the ICC at the aggrieved woman's own workplace; and second, once that ICC's report is sent to the accused's employer, formal disciplinary proceedings (if warranted) are conducted by the ICC at the accused's own department, applying his service rules. Since the appellant could not show any actual prejudice from this process, and the woman's ICC had duly sought the necessary information from the appellant's department, the appeal was dismissed and the sealed inquiry report was directed to be sent to the appellant's department for further action under the applicable service rules.

Lesson Learnt

A woman does not have to file a workplace sexual-harassment complaint with the accused's own office. She can complain to the Internal Complaints Committee at her own workplace, which can conduct the initial fact-finding inquiry regardless of where the accused works; formal disciplinary action, if warranted, is then handled by the accused's own department based on that inquiry's findings.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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