A writ petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Director of AIIMS, New Delhi, to decide a statutory appeal under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which has allegedly remained pending for over six months.

The petitioner has challenged the delay in adjudication of her appeal filed under Section 18(1) of the POSH Act against the findings of the institute’s Internal Complaints Committee for Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (ICCSHWW).

According to the petition, the complaint arose from remarks allegedly made during an official meeting held on September 29, 2025, in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS). The petitioner contends that the remarks were sexually coloured, derogatory and humiliating towards nursing staff. As per the complaint, remarks like “Dr. ABC Nurso ke saath bachha paida kar raha tha” & “Gadho ke tarah kaam karne se kya hoga.” were made by Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS), AIIMS/

The matter was referred to the ICCSHWW, which submitted its report on October 23, 2025. The petition states that while the Committee observed that the remarks were inappropriate and undermining of professional dignity, especially of female staff, it did not recommend any action against the concerned official.

Aggrieved by the findings, the petitioner filed a statutory appeal before the Director, AIIMS, on November 19, 2025. However, despite the passage of more than six months, the appeal has allegedly neither been heard nor decided.

The plea contends that the prolonged pendency defeats the purpose of the POSH Act and renders the statutory appellate remedy ineffective. It seeks a direction to the appellate authority to hear and dispose of the appeal in a time-bound manner.

The petition has been filed through Advocates Sashwat Anand, Vishrut Jain, Rishabh Kumar and Shashank Singh.