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In a significant judgment, the Gauhati High Court has clarified that an employer can still take disciplinary action against an employee even after a POSH conciliation settlement if new evidence comes to light. The court said that conciliation under the POSH Act only stops further inquiry by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and does not take away the employer’s independent powers under service rules to ensure a safe working environment.
The case involved a senior officer of the Airports Authority of India and a woman officer working under his supervision. She had filed a sexual harassment complaint, which was taken up by the ICC. Due to workplace disturbance, both sides opted for conciliation, and a settlement was reached under which they agreed not to work near each other. Because of mental stress, the complainant did not push for a full inquiry at that stage, and the ICC recorded that there was a lack of evidence.
Subsequently, the complainant submitted a screenshot of an objectionable message allegedly sent by the officer. The matter was sent back to the ICC, but it refused to reopen the case, citing Section 10(4) of the POSH Act, which states that once conciliation is successful, no further inquiry can be conducted by the ICC. However, based on the new material, the employer started separate departmental proceedings under its service rules.
The employee challenged this action in the High Court, where a Single Judge quashed the departmental proceedings and also removed the ICC’s observation about lack of evidence. This led the Airports Authority of India to file an intra-court appeal before a Division Bench.
Hearing the appeal, the Division Bench observed that the POSH Act is a minimum protection law meant to ensure safe workplaces. It noted that ICC proceedings do not replace an employer’s disciplinary powers unless the service rules say so. The judges clearly stated that Section 10(4) only stops the ICC from holding a further inquiry after conciliation, but it does not stop the employer from acting independently if fresh evidence emerges.
The court warned that treating Section 10(4) as a complete bar would defeat the purpose of the POSH Act, which places a clear duty on employers to maintain a safe work environment. On this basis, the Division Bench set aside the part of the Single Judge’s order that had quashed the departmental proceedings.
The Gauhati High Court held that the disciplinary action initiated by the employer was lawful and directed that the departmental inquiry be resumed from the stage where it was halted. With these observations, the appeal filed by the Airports Authority of India was partly allowed, reinforcing the principle that employee safety cannot be compromised due to procedural limitations.
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