Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
In plain English
What this section actually means
Section 1 is short and standard. Sub-section (1) names the Act — note the order of the three operational verbs (Prevention → Prohibition → Redressal), which is a deliberate signal of scheme. Sub-section (2) extends the Act to the whole of India without exception (the original text had no J&K carve-out, so the 2019 Reorganisation question never arose). Sub-section (3) left the date open; the Centre notified 9 December 2013 as the commencement date by S.O. 3606(E).
Real life
What this looks like in real life
An incident in November 2013
Setup. An employee alleges sexual harassment that occurred in November 2013 — before the Act commenced.
What the law does. The Act came into force on 9 December 2013. Conduct before that date is not within the Act. The remedies for pre-commencement conduct are: the Vishaka guidelines (which were judicial law before the Act), Section 354A IPC / Section 354 IPC, and any internal disciplinary regime. Post-9 December 2013, the Act applies.
Frequently asked
Questions about Section 1
Open this section in the source PDF
Sexual Harassment at Workplace (POSH) Act, 2013.pdf
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