This is Set 6 of 40 in the smartvidya question bank on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and Rules, with the latest judgments. Part II: Internal and Local Committees. This set covers Tenure, removal grounds, vacancies, external member's role and practical issues.
Try each question first, then tap Show answer to see the correct option, a short explanation and the section or rule reference. The questions are useful for departmental and promotion examinations, for Internal Committee members, HR and administrative officers, and law students.
Set 6: Section 4: Term, Removal and Working of the Internal Committee
1. Members of the Internal Committee, including the Presiding Officer, hold office for a period not exceeding
(a) three years from the date of nomination
(b) two years
(c) five years
(d) one year
Ans. (a) three years from the date of nomination — Explanation: Section 4(3) fixes a term not exceeding three years from the date of nomination as specified by the employer. [Ref: Section 4(3)]
2. The provision on removal of a member of the Internal Committee is
(a) Section 16
(b) Section 4(3)
(c) Section 7(3)
(d) Section 4(5)
Ans. (d) Section 4(5) — Explanation: Section 4(5) lists the grounds for removal of the Presiding Officer or a member. [Ref: Section 4(5)]
3. A ground for removal of an Internal Committee member under Section 4(5) is
(a) contravening the confidentiality provision of Section 16
(b) having legal knowledge
(c) being from an NGO
(d) being a woman
Ans. (a) contravening the confidentiality provision of Section 16 — Explanation: Section 4(5)(a) covers contravention of Section 16 of the Act. [Ref: Section 4(5)(a)]
4. Which of these is a ground for removal of an Internal Committee member?
(a) Taking leave
(b) Being found guilty in disciplinary proceedings, or having such proceedings pending
(c) Declining a promotion
(d) Being transferred within the same office
Ans. (b) Being found guilty in disciplinary proceedings, or having such proceedings pending — Explanation: Section 4(5)(c) covers disciplinary proceedings that have found the member guilty or are pending. [Ref: Section 4(5)(c)]
5. A member convicted of an offence, or against whom an inquiry into an offence is pending, may be
(a) elevated to Local Committee Chairperson
(b) removed under Section 4(5)(b)
(c) retained as Presiding Officer
(d) retained without any action
Ans. (b) removed under Section 4(5)(b) — Explanation: Section 4(5)(b) covers conviction or a pending inquiry into an offence. [Ref: Section 4(5)(b)]
6. A member who has so abused her position as to make her continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest may be
(a) removed under Section 4(5)(d)
(b) made Presiding Officer
(c) given a warning only
(d) transferred to the Local Committee
Ans. (a) removed under Section 4(5)(d) — Explanation: Section 4(5)(d) covers abuse of position prejudicial to the public interest. [Ref: Section 4(5)(d)]
7. A vacancy caused by removal of an Internal Committee member is filled by
(a) the District Officer
(b) automatic promotion of the junior-most member
(c) the Local Committee
(d) fresh nomination in accordance with Section 4
Ans. (d) fresh nomination in accordance with Section 4 — Explanation: Section 4(5) provides that the vacancy shall be filled by fresh nomination. [Ref: Section 4(5)]
8. The number of grounds for removal of an Internal Committee member listed in Section 4(5) is
(a) three
(b) six
(c) four
(d) two
Ans. (c) four — Explanation: Section 4(5) has four clauses: breach of Section 16, criminal conviction or inquiry, disciplinary proceedings, and abuse of position. [Ref: Section 4(5)]
9. A Presiding Officer who is herself the respondent in a complaint should
(a) send the complaint to the police
(b) decide the complaint alone
(c) preside over the inquiry
(d) not take part in that inquiry, and the employer should arrange an alternative under its policy
Ans. (d) not take part in that inquiry, and the employer should arrange an alternative under its policy — Explanation: Natural justice bars a person from judging her own cause, so she must not sit on that inquiry. [Ref: Section 4(5); principles of natural justice]
10. The Karnataka High Court (2025, Jayna Kothari v. Manish Kumar) held that an advocate serving as external member of an Internal Committee
(a) is liable for professional misconduct for every finding
(b) cannot sit on any committee
(c) acts as counsel for the complainant
(d) performs a statutory role and is not engaged in legal practice for the parties
Ans. (d) performs a statutory role and is not engaged in legal practice for the parties — Explanation: The Court found no client-advocate relationship between the external member and the person who complained against her to the Bar Council, held that he had no locus, and quashed the complaint and the notice. [Ref: Karnataka HC, Jayna Kothari v. Manish Kumar, WP 19619 of 2022, decided 2025]
11. The external member's main purpose on the Internal Committee is to
(a) replace the Presiding Officer
(b) represent the respondent
(c) bring independence and expertise and prevent undue influence from the employer
(d) represent the employer's management
Ans. (c) bring independence and expertise and prevent undue influence from the employer — Explanation: An outside member reduces the risk of bias in an internal process. [Ref: Section 4(2)(c)]
12. After the three-year term of an Internal Committee ends, the employer should
(a) reconstitute the committee by a fresh written order
(b) wait for the District Officer to reconstitute it
(c) let the committee lapse
(d) transfer pending complaints to the police
Ans. (a) reconstitute the committee by a fresh written order — Explanation: Members serve for not more than three years, so the employer must renew the committee. [Ref: Section 4(3)]
13. An employer that fails to constitute an Internal Committee as required by Section 4(1) is liable to
(a) a fine of ₹5,000 only
(b) no penalty
(c) imprisonment of three years
(d) a fine which may extend to ₹50,000
Ans. (d) a fine which may extend to ₹50,000 — Explanation: Section 26(1)(a) makes failure to constitute an Internal Committee punishable with fine up to ₹50,000. [Ref: Section 26(1)(a)]
14. Under Rule 13, the employer must publicly declare
(a) the outcome of every complaint with names
(b) the names and contact details of all members of the Internal Committee
(c) the salary of committee members
(d) the names of all complainants
Ans. (b) the names and contact details of all members of the Internal Committee — Explanation: Rule 13(e) requires the names and contact details of committee members to be declared. [Ref: Rule 13(e)]
15. The order constituting the Internal Committee must be displayed at a conspicuous place under
(a) Section 4(3)
(b) Section 26
(c) Section 19(b)
(d) Section 9
Ans. (c) Section 19(b) — Explanation: Section 19(b) requires display of the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the order constituting the committee. [Ref: Section 19(b)]
16. The Internal Committee's quorum for proceedings under Rule 7 is
(a) any two members
(b) the Presiding Officer alone
(c) at least three members including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson
(d) all members
Ans. (c) at least three members including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson — Explanation: Rule 7(7) requires a minimum of three members, including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson, for proceedings. [Ref: Rule 7(7)]
17. Orientation and capacity-building programmes for Internal Committee members are the duty of the
(a) police
(b) respondent
(c) employer
(d) complainant
Ans. (c) employer — Explanation: Section 19(c) and Rule 13 require orientation and capacity-building programmes. [Ref: Section 19(c); Rule 13]
18. An external member who discloses the identity of a complainant to the media
(a) becomes the respondent automatically
(b) may be removed under Section 4(5) and may face a penalty under Section 17
(c) commits no wrong as she is an outsider
(d) is protected by Section 16
Ans. (b) may be removed under Section 4(5) and may face a penalty under Section 17 — Explanation: Section 16 binds everyone involved, and breach is a removal ground and attracts a penalty. [Ref: Sections 4(5), 16 and 17]
19. Members of an Internal Committee should declare any conflict of interest because
(a) the Act requires all members to be strangers to the parties
(b) a biased member can vitiate the inquiry under the principles of natural justice
(c) conflicts are punishable under Section 26
(d) the District Officer must approve each case
Ans. (b) a biased member can vitiate the inquiry under the principles of natural justice — Explanation: Rule 7(4) requires the inquiry to follow natural justice, which includes absence of bias. [Ref: Rule 7(4)]
20. Where an organisation has fewer than ten employees, the woman should complain to
(a) the Local Committee of the district
(b) the employer's Internal Committee, which is compulsory
(c) the High Court
(d) the National Commission for Women only
Ans. (a) the Local Committee of the district — Explanation: The Local Committee receives complaints from establishments where no Internal Committee is constituted because there are fewer than ten workers. [Ref: Section 6(1)]
21. A woman employee complains to the Internal Committee that the CEO-owner of the firm harassed her. The complaint should go to
(a) the Internal Committee of the firm
(b) the board of directors only
(c) the auditors
(d) the Local Committee, as it is against the employer himself
Ans. (d) the Local Committee, as it is against the employer himself — Explanation: Section 6(1) sends complaints against the employer to the Local Committee. [Ref: Section 6(1)]
22. Where the employer is a company, a complaint against a director who controls the company is commonly treated as
(a) outside the Act
(b) an ordinary complaint for the Internal Committee in all cases
(c) a complaint against the employer, for the Local Committee
(d) a matter for the shareholders only
Ans. (c) a complaint against the employer, for the Local Committee — Explanation: Section 2(g) includes the persons responsible for management and control within "employer". [Ref: Sections 2(g) and 6(1)]
23. The three-year term of Internal Committee members is counted from
(a) the date of nomination as specified by the employer
(b) the beginning of the financial year
(c) the date of approval by the District Officer
(d) the date of the first complaint
Ans. (a) the date of nomination as specified by the employer — Explanation: Section 4(3) counts the term from the date of nomination specified by the employer. [Ref: Section 4(3)]
24. The phrase "Internal Committee" in the 2013 Rules refers to
(a) the Internal Complaints Committee under Section 4
(b) the Board of Directors
(c) the Local Committee
(d) the disciplinary authority
Ans. (a) the Internal Complaints Committee under Section 4 — Explanation: Section 2(h) and the Rules use Internal Committee for the Section 4 body. [Ref: Section 2(h)]
25. The external member of the Internal Committee in a Government office
(a) must be from the police
(b) is mandatory just as in the private sector
(c) is replaced by a Government nominee
(d) is optional
Ans. (b) is mandatory just as in the private sector — Explanation: Section 4(2)(c) applies to every employer, public or private. [Ref: Section 4(2)(c)]
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These questions are prepared for practice from the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (with the 2013 Rules, and Supreme Court and High Court rulings up to 2026). Check the latest notifications and your service rules before relying on any detail.