POSH Internal Committee training: what the law requires
Every employer must train its Internal Committee. The law does not say how many hours, how often, or by whom, and no certificate is mandatory. What it does say is specific about the skill: IC members must be able to run an inquiry from complaint to final report. Here is the law, and how the training options measure up against it.
Fees and formats checked on issuer sites, 26 October 2026- The duty: Rule 13(b) and 13(d) of the POSH Rules 2013 require orientation programmes and capacity and skill building for IC members. The Supreme Court in Aureliano Fernandes (2023) said this must be done regularly.
- The standard: IC members must know how to conduct an inquiry from the moment a complaint is received until the report is submitted. A one-hour awareness session does not cover that.
- No certification is legally required and no provider is government-accredited. "Certified" means certified by the provider.
- Pick training that covers inquiry procedure, the three-month limit, and complaints against people from other workplaces, all areas where the Supreme Court has ruled since 2023.
Before you pay for any of them.
The questions that separate a credential that helps you do the job from one that only looks good on a profile.
The options, compared.
Checked on 26 October 2026. Fees change; confirm on the issuer's site before you pay. "Not published" means the issuer does not state it publicly.
| dcomply Academy POSH Practitioner | Law-firm or consultant IC workshop | HR consultancy programmes | Self-paced e-learning (e.g. Coursera) | Free official resources | ICSI POSH course | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | dcomply Academy (Decipher Consultancy Services) | Law firms, often the IC external member | POSH specialist and HR firms | Training companies on marketplaces | Skill India Digital Hub (NSDC), SHe-Box (MWCD), iGOT | Institute of Company Secretaries of India |
| Inquiry procedure depth | Full: complaint to report, with the 2023 to 2025 Supreme Court rulings | Varies by trainer; often strong when run by practising lawyers | Varies; some include mock inquiries | Mostly awareness; inquiry practice thin or absent | Employee awareness level | Details not published |
| Format | Self-paced online. 8 modules, 41 lessons | Half-day to 2 days, in person or virtual | Half-day to 2 days, cohorts or in-house | 30 minutes to about 5 hours of video and quizzes | About 30 minutes self-paced (SIDH); manuals on SHe-Box | Self-paced module on ICSI Knowledge on Demand |
| Assessment | 60-question exam, 90 minutes, 75% to pass. Online, not proctored | Usually none, or a participation certificate | Varies; quiz or none | Auto-graded quizzes | Self-paced assessment (SIDH) | Not published |
| Published fee | On the course page | Usually on request | Often not published | Free to audit, paid certificate (Coursera) | Free | Current fee not published |
| Repeat for new members | Lifetime access to course updates | Rebook each time | Some offer annual subscriptions | Yes, while the platform hosts it | Yes | Not published |
When each one is the right pick.
Every option here is a legitimate choice for someone. The question is whether it is the right one for your role.
dcomply Academy POSH Practitioner · dcomply Academy
Best for: IC members, Presiding Officers, HR and legal teams who need the inquiry process and recent case law in depth, at their own pace.
Watch out for: Self-paced reading, not a live workshop. Pair it with a mock inquiry for your own IC if you can.
Law-firm or consultant IC workshop · Law firms and external members
Best for: Employers who want training tailored to their own policy and run by the lawyer who sits on their IC.
Watch out for: Quality depends entirely on the trainer, fees are rarely published, and new members need a fresh session.
HR consultancy programmes · POSH specialist and HR firms
Best for: Organisations wanting employee awareness and IC training bundled, sometimes with mock inquiries.
Watch out for: Check how much time goes to inquiry skills versus general awareness.
Self-paced e-learning · Training companies
Best for: Low-cost awareness for large employee populations.
Watch out for: Mostly employee awareness. Rarely enough on its own for the IC skill-building Rule 13(d) asks for.
Free official resources · Government of India
Best for: A free starting point: the SHe-Box portal hosts official handbooks and training manuals, and Skill India Digital Hub has a short awareness course.
Watch out for: Pitched at employee awareness, not IC inquiry skills.
ICSI POSH course · ICSI
Best for: Company secretaries and professionals who advise companies on POSH compliance.
Watch out for: Current duration, fee and assessment are not published on ICSI's page.
Where dcomply Academy fits.
We run one of the options above, so read this section with that in mind.
Written for people who sit on, chair or advise an Internal Committee. It walks through the inquiry the way Aureliano Fernandes direction (iv) describes it, from complaint to report, and covers the 2023 to 2025 Supreme Court rulings. For Presiding Officers and external members who want more on evidence, cross-examination and hard cases, dcomply Academy also runs the POSH Lead Practitioner course.
- 8 modules and 41 lessons on the POSH Act 2013, the POSH Rules 2013 and Supreme Court case law.
- Each legal claim in a lesson is linked to the section, rule or judgment it rests on.
- Final exam: 60 questions, 90 minutes, 75% to pass. Certificate with a public verification link.
- Lesson 1 is open to read. The rest of Module 1 is free with your email.
Questions people actually ask.
Yes. Section 19(c) requires employers to run orientation programmes for IC members, and Rule 13(b) and 13(d) of the POSH Rules 2013 require orientation programmes and seminars, and capacity building and skill building programmes, for IC members.
No. The Act and Rules require training but prescribe no certificate, syllabus, hours or accredited provider. A certificate from any provider shows completion of that provider's course.
The law sets no fixed frequency. In Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (12 May 2023) the Supreme Court directed employers to regularly conduct orientation programmes, workshops and seminars to upskill IC members. Annual training, and training for every new member, is common practice.
The Supreme Court directed that IC members be familiarised with their duties and with how an inquiry should be conducted, from the point the complaint is received until the inquiry is concluded and the report submitted.
Rule 14(d) requires the IC annual report to include the number of workshops or awareness programmes held. Companies separately disclose IC constitution and complaint numbers in the Board's report.
Where these facts come from.
Issuer and government pages, checked 26 October 2026. Credential names are trademarks of their owners. We are not affiliated with any other issuer listed.
- POSH Act 2013 and Rules 2013 (Legislative Department text, Delhi High Court copy)
- India Code (canonical text of the Act)
- Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa, CA 2482 of 2014, 12 May 2023
- Supreme Court follow-up order, 10 February 2026
- Vaneeta Patnaik v. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, 2025 INSC 1106
- Dr. Sohail Malik v. Union of India, 2025 INSC 1415
- PIB: SHe-Box portal status, 1 April 2026
- SHe-Box portal
- Skill India Digital Hub POSH course
- ICSI Knowledge on Demand
- Coursera POSH course
Read the first lesson before you decide.
Lesson 1 is open to everyone, no sign-up. The rest of Module 1 is free with your email.