Hema Committee report: Kerala High Court forms Special Bench with woman judge to hear petitions

The Kerala High Court building.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (September 5, 2024) constituted a Special Bench consisting of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice C.S. Sudha for hearing public interest litigations (PIL) filed following the publication of the Hema Committee report on the issues faced by women working in the Malayalam film industry.

Meanwhile, the Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S. Manu has referred to the Special Bench an appeal filed by Sajimon Parayil, a producer, against a single judge’s order upholding the State Information Commission’s (SIC) directive to release the Hema Committee report with redactions.

The Bench had earlier directed the Kerala government to produce the entire report of the Hema Committee before the court when a public interest litigation came up seeking a directive to the State government to initiate criminal proceedings against those who had committed sexual exploitation and harassment of women in the film industry as found by the Hema Committee.

The Bench had then observed that if any cognizable offence is disclosed in the report, whether a criminal action is necessary or not is to be decided by the court.

The court had said the State government is, as of now, is unable to proceed in this matter for the simple reason that no one has come forward with a complaint. But the fact remains that if the report discloses sexual exploitation and harassment of women, how to protect these vulnerable women and what action can be taken against the perpetrators is something that the court needs to address, the Bench had added.

Plea seeking CBI probe pending

Another public interest petition seeking a CBI probe into the revelations of sexual harassment reportedly made in the Hema Committee report is also pending before the court. The petition filed by Jannath and another person sought a directive to the State government to enact a law for the protection of women in cinema based on the recommendations of the Hema Committee report.

The petition alleged that the government is reluctant to register crimes based on the revelations in the report. It also pointed out that the perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual assaults are people with high political influence and, therefore, it created an apprehension in the minds of the people that such persons may be unfairly protected and that an impartial investigation will not be conducted by the police.

The petitioner alleged that the government had “miserably failed to present the report before the Assembly, casting doubt on the State’s real intentions” on the safety of women actors.