(1) On the completion of an inquiry under this Act, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall provide a report of its findings to the employer, or as the case may be, the District Officer within a period of ten days from the date of completion of the inquiry and such report be made available to the concerned parties.
(2) Where the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, arrives at the conclusion that the allegation against the respondent has not been proved, it shall recommend to the employer and the District Officer that no action is required to be taken in the matter.
(3) Where the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, arrives at the conclusion that the allegation against the respondent has been proved, it shall recommend to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be—
(i) to take action for sexual harassment as a misconduct in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the respondent or where no such service rules have been made, in such manner as may be prescribed;
(ii) to deduct from the salary or wages of the respondent such sum as it may consider appropriate to be paid to the aggrieved woman or to her legal heirs, as it may determine, in accordance with the provisions of section 15:
Provided that in case the employer is unable to make such deduction from the salary of the respondent on account of his being absent from duty or cessation of employment it may direct to the respondent to pay such sum to the aggrieved woman:
Provided further that in case the respondent fails to pay the sum referred to in clause (ii), the Internal Committee or, as the case may be, the Local Committee may forward the order for recovery of the sum as an arrear of land revenue to the concerned District Officer.
(4) The employer or the District Officer shall act upon the recommendation within sixty days of its receipt by him.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 13
Section 13 governs the preparation, submission, and mandatory implementation of the final inquiry report submitted by the Internal Committee or Local Committee.
Under sub-section (3), where the Committee finds the allegations proved, it recommends to the employer: (i) to take action for sexual harassment as a service misconduct; and/or (ii) to deduct from the salary or wages of the respondent such sum as it considers appropriate to be paid to the aggrieved woman or her legal heirs as compensation under Section 15. Sub-section (4) mandates that the employer must act upon these recommendations within sixty days of receipt.
Section 13 establishes a strict, time-bound bridge between factual determination and disciplinary execution. Employers cannot place IC findings in administrative cold storage; the sixty-day statutory window for implementation ensures prompt restorative justice and penal deterrence.