Grievance Redressal Policy

Boznaw's statutory complaint channel: who the Grievance Officer is, what they handle, what a complaint must contain, the timelines that bind us, and how to escalate.

Effective[EFFECTIVE DATE]Updated11 September 2026Version1.0.0

Draft — not yet configured. Values shown in a highlighted box, like [LEGAL ENTITY NAME], must be supplied by the operator of Boznaw before this document is relied upon. This document should also be reviewed by qualified Indian legal counsel before publication.

Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 requires every intermediary to appoint a Grievance Officer, publish their name and contact details, and resolve complaints within fixed periods. This page discharges that obligation and explains how to use the mechanism.

This is a formal channel with binding timelines. It is not the fastest route for everything — for most Content complaints the in-product Report control reaches a moderator sooner. Section 3 explains which to use.

Contents9 sections

1. The Grievance Officer
2. Who can complain
3. What this channel handles
4. What your complaint must contain
5. What happens, and by when
6. Urgent complaints
7. If our decision does not satisfy you
8. Records and transparency
9. Contact

1. The Grievance Officer

Grievance Officer

Placeholder, to be configured before publication: [FULL LEGAL NAME]

Email: grievance@boznaw.com
Postal address: Placeholder, to be configured before publication: [BUSINESS ADDRESS WITH PIN CODE]
Working hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00–18:00 IST, excluding public holidays

Appointed under Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The Grievance Officer acts independently of the Community Moderators whose decisions they may be asked to review. An appeal is never decided by the person who made the original decision.

2. Who can complain

Anyone. You do not need a Boznaw account, and you do not need to be the person the Content is about — though if you are, say so, because it affects how a complaint is prioritised.

There is no fee, no form to obtain, and no requirement to use a lawyer.

3. What this channel handles

Kind of complaint	Where to send it
Content that breaches the Content Policy or the Community Guidelines	Use the Report control on the post, comment or profile. It reaches a moderator faster and identifies the Content precisely. Escalate here if the report is not dealt with.
Content in a prohibited category under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021	Here. A statutory 36-hour clock applies.
Intimate imagery, impersonation, or artificially altered images of you	Here, marked urgent. A statutory 2-hour clock applies. See Section 6.
A moderation decision you say is wrong — removal, restriction, suspension or termination	Here. This is the appeal route described in the Content Moderation Policy.
How your personal data has been handled, or a rights request that was not answered	Here. This is the grievance right under Section 13 of the DPDP Act, 2023.
Copyright infringement	The Copyright Policy, which has its own statutory procedure and its own required contents.
An immediate risk to someone's life or safety	Contact the police or emergency services first. Then tell us, marked urgent, so we can act on the Content.

Content that breaches the Content Policy or the Community Guidelines
Where to send it
Use the Report control on the post, comment or profile. It reaches a moderator faster and identifies the Content precisely. Escalate here if the report is not dealt with.
Content in a prohibited category under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021
Where to send it
Here. A statutory 36-hour clock applies.
Intimate imagery, impersonation, or artificially altered images of you
Where to send it
Here, marked urgent. A statutory 2-hour clock applies. See Section 6.
A moderation decision you say is wrong — removal, restriction, suspension or termination
Where to send it
Here. This is the appeal route described in the Content Moderation Policy.
How your personal data has been handled, or a rights request that was not answered
Where to send it
Here. This is the grievance right under Section 13 of the DPDP Act, 2023.
Copyright infringement
Where to send it
The Copyright Policy, which has its own statutory procedure and its own required contents.
An immediate risk to someone's life or safety
Where to send it
Contact the police or emergency services first. Then tell us, marked urgent, so we can act on the Content.

4. What your complaint must contain

A complaint that contains these things can be acted on immediately. One that does not will be acknowledged, and we will come back to you for what is missing — which costs you time.

Your name, and your Boznaw username if you have one.
An email address or phone number we can reply to.
What you are complaining about, with the full URL of every post, comment or profile concerned. A description without links is much harder to act on.
What is wrong with it — which rule, which law, or what happened to you.
Your relationship to it: are you the person depicted, the person whose data it is, the rights holder, or a reader who came across it?
What you want us to do — remove it, restore it, correct a record, reverse a decision.
A statement that what you have told us is true to the best of your knowledge.

Section 15 of the DPDP Act, 2023 makes it a breach of your duties to file a false or frivolous grievance, or to impersonate another person in doing so, and provides penalties for it.

5. What happens, and by when

Acknowledgement — within 24 hours
We confirm we have received the complaint and give it a reference. This is required by Rule 3(2)(a)(i).
Assessment
The Grievance Officer reviews the complaint against the Content Policy and the applicable law, looks at the Content in its context, and where a decision is being appealed, reviews it afresh rather than confirming it.
Action
We do what the assessment requires — remove or restore Content, reverse or confirm a decision, correct or erase data, or explain why no action is warranted.
Resolution — within 7 days
We tell you the outcome with reasons. Rule 3(2)(a)(i), as amended in 2026, shortened this period from 15 days to 7.

Statutory periods that bind us

Complaint	We must act within
Acknowledging any grievance	24 hours
Resolving any grievance	7 days
A complaint about Content in a prohibited category under Rule 3(1)(b)	36 hours
Content exposing a person's private area, showing them in a sexual act, or depicting them through impersonation or artificial alteration	2 hours
An order of a court or an authorised government agency	3 hours
A valid copyright complaint	36 hours to remove; access suspended for 21 days

Acknowledging any grievance
We must act within
24 hours
Resolving any grievance
We must act within
7 days
A complaint about Content in a prohibited category under Rule 3(1)(b)
We must act within
36 hours
Content exposing a person's private area, showing them in a sexual act, or depicting them through impersonation or artificial alteration
We must act within
2 hours
An order of a court or an authorised government agency
We must act within
3 hours
A valid copyright complaint
We must act within
36 hours to remove; access suspended for 21 days

6. Urgent complaints

If someone is in immediate danger, contact the police or emergency services first. We can remove Content; we cannot send help.

You may also report such content to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in, which accepts anonymous reports of online sexual content involving women and children. Doing so does not replace telling us — we still need to know in order to remove it from Boznaw.

7. If our decision does not satisfy you

1. Ask us to look again
Reply to our decision, saying what you think we got wrong. A second review inside Boznaw is free and usually fastest.
2. Appeal to a Grievance Appellate Committee
Rule 3A of the IT Rules, 2021 gives you the right to appeal our decision to a Grievance Appellate Committee constituted by the Central Government, within 30 days of receiving it. The Committee deals with appeals online, endeavours to decide within 30 calendar days, and its orders bind us. Appeals are filed through the portal the Government maintains for the purpose.
3. Complain to the Data Protection Board
For a complaint about personal data, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India under Section 13(3) and Chapter V of the DPDP Act, 2023, after first raising it with us. The Board has been constituted with effect from 13 November 2025.
4. Consumer and court remedies
Nothing here affects your right to approach a consumer commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 where that Act applies, or to approach a court.

8. Records and transparency

We keep a record of every grievance: what was complained of, when it arrived, what we did, when, and why. The IT Rules require that record, and it is also what makes an appeal reviewable. Retention is set out in the Privacy Policy.

Rule 4 of the IT Rules, 2021 requires a Significant Social Media Intermediary — one with 50 lakh or more registered users in India — to publish monthly compliance reports on complaints received and action taken, and to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person and a resident Grievance Officer. Boznaw is below that threshold today. If it crosses it, we will implement those obligations and publish the reports.

9. Contact