Rule 7 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 7 is the procedural backbone of the inquiry. It tells the complainant what to file, the committee when to send a copy to the respondent, the respondent when to reply, and it lays down the hearing rules: natural justice, a limit on absence, no legal practitioners and a minimum quorum of three Members. Section 11 of the Act, on the inquiry, has its own post, and we do not re-explain it here. If you are preparing for or running an inquiry, our legal consultation service can help.
The complainant files six copies of the complaint with supporting documents and the names and addresses of witnesses. The committee sends one copy to the respondent within seven working days; the respondent replies within ten working days. The inquiry follows natural justice. After three consecutive hearings missed without sufficient cause and fifteen days' written notice, the committee may terminate or decide ex parte. No legal practitioner may appear. A minimum of three Members, including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson, must be present.
Source and names
This article follows the copy of the Rules consulted (the Rules as notified on 9 December 2013, G.S.R. 769(E)); check the current Rules. The Rules implement the Act, cited from the consolidated text consulted (it shows one amendment, Act 23 of 2016, with effect from 6 May 2016); later amendments and notifications should be checked. The Rule says "Complaints Committee", which Rule 2(c) defines as the Internal Committee or the Local Committee. The copy is a web-page print with printing slips; the gazette scan prints the rule number as "4," but the web-page print and the arrangement of rules show it as Rule 7.
Rule 7 and section 11
Rule 7 is headed "Manner of Inquiry into complaint". Section 11(1) says the committee shall inquire "in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the respondent and where no such rules exist, in such manner as may be prescribed". Section 29(2)(e) lists "the manner of inquiry under sub-section (1) of section 11" as a rule-making head, and Rule 7 is the rule. Sub-rule (1) opens "Subject to the provisions of section 11". For the section itself, including the ninety days for completing the inquiry, see Inquiry Process Under POSH Act, Section 11.
Sub-rule by sub-rule
| Sub-rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| (1) | At the time of filing the complaint, the complainant submits to the Complaints Committee six copies of the complaint with supporting documents and the names and addresses of the witnesses |
| (2) | On receipt, the Complaints Committee sends one copy to the respondent within seven working days |
| (3) | The respondent files a reply with a list of documents and names and addresses of witnesses within a period not exceeding ten working days from receipt of the documents |
| (4) | The inquiry is made in accordance with the principles of natural justice |
| (5) | The committee may terminate the inquiry or give an ex parte decision if the complainant or respondent fails, without sufficient cause, to be present for three consecutive hearings; fifteen days' written notice in advance is required |
| (6) | No legal practitioner to represent the parties at any stage |
| (7) | A minimum of three Members, including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson, must be present during the inquiry |
Sub-rules (1) to (3): the paper stage
Sub-rule (1) puts the filing burden on the complainant: six copies, the supporting documents, and the names and addresses of witnesses. The complaint itself must first be in writing under section 9(1); see section 9. A person filing on behalf of the aggrieved woman under Rule 6 is also a complainant for this purpose.
Sub-rule (2) sets the committee's step: "one of the copies received from the aggrieved woman" goes to the respondent "within a period of seven working days" of receipt of the complaint. Sub-rule (3) then gives the respondent "a period not exceeding ten working days from the date of receipt of the documents specified under sub-rule (I)" (the copy prints "sub•rule (I)", a printing slip for "(1)") to file a reply, a list of documents and names and addresses of witnesses. The Rule says "working days" in both places and does not define the term. The Rule also does not say what happens if the respondent does not reply in time, apart from the general power in sub-rule (5).
Sub-rule (4): natural justice
"The Complaints Committee shall make inquiry into the complaint in accordance with the principles of natural justice." The Rule does not spell out those principles, and we do not. Section 11(1), second proviso, adds that where both parties are employees they shall be given an opportunity of being heard and a copy of the findings made available to both, enabling them to make representation against the findings before the committee.
Sub-rule (5): absence and ex parte decision
The committee "shall have the right to terminate the inquiry proceedings or to give an ex-parte decision on the complaint, if the complainant or respondent fails, without sufficient cause, to present herself or himself for three consecutive hearings convened by the Chairperson or Presiding Officer, as the case may be".
The proviso: "such termination or ex-parte order may not be passed without giving a notice in writing, fifteen days in advance, to the party concerned."
Three conditions must come together: absence without sufficient cause, three consecutive hearings, and fifteen days' written notice to the party. The right applies to either party. Termination (if the complainant is absent) and an ex parte decision (usually where the respondent is absent) are different outcomes; the Rule uses both words and does not say which goes with which, and we say no more.
Sub-rule (6): no lawyers
"The parties shall not be allowed to bring in any legal practitioner to represent them in their case at any stage of the proceedings before the Complaints Committee." The words "at any stage" cover the whole of the proceedings before the committee. The Rule does not address a support person who is not a legal practitioner.
Sub-rule (7): quorum
"In conducting the inquiry, a minimum of three Members of the Complaints Committee including the Presiding Officer or the Chairperson, as the case may be, shall be present." So three Members must be present, and one of them must be the Presiding Officer (Internal Committee) or the Chairperson (Local Committee).
What Rule 7 does not say
The Rule does not set a time for the committee to hold the first hearing, the number of witnesses, a format for the reply, or how hearings are recorded. It does not repeat the ninety-day outer limit, which is in section 11(4). The powers to summon and examine are in section 11(3). We give no step the texts do not print.
An example
An aggrieved woman, Hema, files six copies of her complaint with two documents and the names of two witnesses with the Internal Committee. The committee sends a copy to the respondent, Bhaskar, within seven working days. Bhaskar files his reply within ten working days of receiving the documents. At hearings, a lawyer accompanying Bhaskar is not permitted to represent him under sub-rule (6). Bhaskar misses three consecutive hearings convened by the Presiding Officer without sufficient cause. After fifteen days' written notice to him, the committee, with at least three Members including the Presiding Officer present, may give an ex parte decision.
Need help preparing for or running an inquiry?
The Rule 7 periods are short and the record matters. Our legal consultation team can help the complainant, the respondent or the committee plan the steps and keep the record.
Key takeaways
- The complainant files six copies with supporting documents and witness names and addresses.
- The committee sends a copy to the respondent in seven working days; the respondent replies in ten working days.
- Natural justice applies; three consecutive hearings missed without sufficient cause and fifteen days' written notice allow termination or an ex parte decision.
- No legal practitioner at any stage.
- Minimum three Members, including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson.
Read next
- Section 9 of the POSH Act, 2013: complaint and time limit
- Section 12 of the POSH Act, 2013: action during pendency of inquiry
- Section 13 of the POSH Act, 2013: inquiry report and action by employer
- Inquiry Process Under POSH Act, Section 11
Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 showing one amendment (Act 23 of 2016, 6 May 2016) and on a copy of the Rules of 2013 as notified on 9 December 2013, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, State rules and notifications, and the position under the Labour Codes in force from 21 November 2025 should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.