No. A sixteen-year-old is a child under POCSO, and an account indicating sexual touching may engage that Act. Section 19 requires a person with the specified knowledge or apprehension to provide information to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police. A confidential POSH process is not a substitute for that report. Protect the child, preserve the disclosure accurately and obtain immediate child-protection assistance without waiting for an internal finding.
Must the committee first decide whether the allegation is true?
No internal proof exercise should be made a condition of reporting. Section 19 addresses knowledge that an offence has been committed or apprehension that one is likely. It does not require an employer to complete a ninety-day workplace inquiry before contacting the designated police authority. Report the information actually received and distinguish it from facts you independently know.
Section 7 addresses specified sexual touching and other physical contact with sexual intent without penetration. The exact offence depends on the account and circumstances. HR should not delay reporting while trying to assign the perfect section number or obtain an admission from the alleged perpetrator.
What should be recorded from the disclosure?
Note when and where the disclosure occurred, who heard it, the child's age or available age information and the words used as accurately as possible. Preserve relevant messages and employer-held records. Mark an adult's interpretation as interpretation rather than placing it inside quotation marks as the child's statement.
Do not repeatedly question the child to test consistency or arrange a confrontation with the accused employee. Explain, in language the child understands, that the information needs to go to people responsible for protection and investigation. Avoid promising that it will remain a secret known only to the committee.
Whom do we contact and what proof should we retain?
Section 19 identifies the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police. Provide the disclosure, known identifying and contact information, immediate safety concerns and the location of relevant records. Ask for acknowledgment or the entry particulars. The Act requires the report to be recorded in writing with an entry number and read over to the informant.
The reporting file should show who made the report, to which authority, when and what was supplied. Do not assume that telling the chief executive or company lawyer fulfils the police-reporting duty. Internal escalation may help organise the response, but it should not become a reason for delay.
What if the parent asks the company not to report?
The statutory duty is not replaced by an agreement between adults. Explain the duty respectfully and seek child-protection advice on safe communication and support. If a parent or household member is implicated or there is a safety concern, tell the receiving authority instead of automatically sending the child back into that situation.
Section 21 provides consequences for failure to report, including a distinct provision for a person in charge of a company or institution concerning an offence in respect of a subordinate under their control. Its general failure-to-report penalty does not apply to the child. The purpose of involving trained authorities is protection and lawful investigation, not blaming the child for when or how they disclosed.
Does POSH confidentiality prevent disclosure to police?
No. Section 16's protection against public disclosure should not be misread as permission to suppress information required under child-protection law. Restrict internal circulation and do not publish the child's name, photograph, school or other identifying details. Section 23 of POCSO separately protects identity in media reporting, subject to its statutory exception.
A manager may need enough information to implement immediate workplace separation, but that does not require a company-wide account of the allegation. Preserve an access record for sensitive documents. Avoid including identifying material in a routine annual POSH report or training presentation.
What happens to the employment inquiry?
It needs separate advice on the applicable POSH and service-rule process, coordination with the criminal investigation and fair treatment of all concerned. Reporting does not itself establish guilt or authorise punishment without the relevant process. At the same time, the employer should address immediate access and safety concerns while authorities act.
The first action is the statutory report and a documented safety response. Questions about discipline, internship status or whether the child can continue working should be handled after immediate protection and reporting, with the child's circumstances and the applicable law properly assessed.
Read the general POSH procedure and our answer on challenging a committee recommendation for the adjoining stages.