Navigating Cross-Complaints & Counter-Allegations—Procedural Rigor in Dual Inquiries

    When an Internal Committee receives a POSHcomplaint, it is not uncommon for the respondent to file a counter-complaint alleging harassment, defamation, or professional retaliation by the complainant. These dual-complaint scenarios present significant procedural hurdles. The IC must avoid the trap of treating the complaints as mutually canceling or merging them into a single, chaotic investigation that blurs the legal issues of each case.

Indian POSH jurisprudence requires each complaint to be treated as a distinct legal proceeding with its own statement of allegations, evidence gathering, and findings. Conjoining two separate complaints into one unstructured deposition risks violating natural justice, as the rights and liabilities of both parties shift depending on whether they are acting as the complainant or the respondent in a given statement. The IC must maintain separate case files, frame separate issues, and issue independent inquiry reports.

To handle cross-complaints effectively, the IC should first determine whether the counter-allegation falls genuinely under the scope of Section 2(n) of the POSH Act or if it constitutes a general HR grievance (such as performance disputes or interpersonal conflict). If the counter-claim alleges sexual harassment or gender-based hostility, the IC must formally register it as a parallel inquiry. If it is a non-POSH organizational grievance, the IC must route that specific aspect to the central HR or disciplinary committee while continuing its POSH mandate.

When conducting parallel POSH inquiries involving the same parties, the sequence of depositions must be managed with extreme care. The committee should complete the primary evidence gathering for the initial complaint before pivoting to the counter-complaint, ensuring that testimony given in one proceeding is not inappropriately weaponized or conflated in the other without giving the affected party a formal chance to respond.

Ultimately, dual-complaint scenarios test an IC's dedication to procedural purity. Resolving these cases requires resisting the temptation to force a compromise or mutual withdrawal. By systematically evaluating each complaint on its individual merits under the Preponderance of Probability standard, the IC ensures that genuine grievances are substantiated while frivolous counter-tactics are objectively identified and dismissed.

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