The inquiry stage is where most POSH cases fail, and the law now has a handbook written for exactly that stage.
On 17 July 2026, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Annpurna Devi released the National Commission for Women’s Handbook on Inquiry Procedure for Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs). While the Ministry’s 2015 handbook dealt with compliance broadly, this one is a referencer which focuses squarely on the inquiry.
Every IC inquiry has to meet three tests: natural justice, sensitivity and confidentiality.
In practice however, ICs are now dealing with:
• Digital evidence such as WhatsApp and Teams chats, Instagram DMs and calls, Snapchat and view-once messages, emails, emojis and call records
• Workplace hierarchies and interpersonal dynamics
• Fear of retaliation
• Confidentiality obligations alongside procedural fairness
Faced with this, many IC’s are confused and don’t know how to proceed with next steps.
My view: Treat the handbook as a compliance baseline going forward, not as an optional reading. Let it be a step-by-step referencer when conducting inquiries, fully adhering to the principles of natural justice, and observing best practices for recording evidence and conducting hearings.
If you sit on an IC, or you are the employer accountable for one, read it before your next complaint arrives, not after.
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