Chapter V - Inquiry

Section 16: Confidentiality of complaint and inquiry proceedings

Protects identities, complaint contents, evidence, proceedings, recommendations and action from publication, including despite the RTI Act, while allowing anonymised information about justice secured.

Act No. 14 of 2013Authority: All persons handling protected materialData reviewed on 17 July 2026

In 2 minutes

Statutory text

16. Prohibition of publication or making known contents of complaint and inquiry proceedings.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), the contents of the complaint made under section 9, the identity and addresses of the aggrieved woman, respondent and witnesses, any information relating to conciliation and inquiry proceedings, recommendations of the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, and the action taken by the employer or the District Officer under the provisions of this Act shall not be published, communicated or made known to the public, press and media in any manner: Provided that information may be disseminated regarding the justice secured to any vicitim of sexual harassment under this Act without disclosing the name, address, identity or any other particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the aggrieved woman and witnesses.

Source transcription: India Code consolidated Act PDF. Check the official source for a live matter.

Rule, authority, record and consequence map

Related Central Rule	Rule 12: Penalty for contravention of confidentiality
Primary authority	All persons handling protected material
Core record	Access-control log, redaction protocol and confidentiality acknowledgements
Compliance consequence	Disclosure can attract section 17 and Rule 12 consequences and may cause independent privacy or employment-law risk.

Practical example

An internal email announcing the complainant's name and allegations to staff would breach confidentiality; an anonymised compliance statistic may be reported.

Finin2min Q&A

What should an employer or committee do first?

Create the record identified above, check the linked Rule and preserve a dated decision trail. Do not replace the statutory process with an informal HR discussion where the Act applies.

What needs jurisdiction-specific checking?

State rules and notifications, District Officer and Local Committee details, service rules, standing orders, appellate forum and any sector regulator requirements.

← Section 15 POSH hub Section 17 →