The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, directed the state government to submit the Hema Committee report on atrocities against women in the Malayalam film industry in a sealed cover. The directive came during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Thiruvananthapuram resident Navas, highlighting serious allegations contained within the report.
The division bench, led by Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S. Manu, has taken a keen interest in understanding the government’s next steps concerning the findings of the Hema Committee. The government’s counsel argued that while the report is comprehensive, initiating criminal proceedings is challenging without formal complaints due to the confidential nature of the statements collected by the committee.
The state government acknowledged having the names mentioned in the uncensored original report, which remains confidential. It stressed that while the committee was tasked with studying and reporting on the situation of women in the movie industry, legal actions based on these findings are constrained by the confidentiality under which the testimonies were recorded.
Responding to the high court’s inquiry, the state government stated that it would proceed with registering cases only if individuals come forward to file complaints, adhering to the legal standards required to break the confidentiality of the statements.
The PIL not only seeks the publication of the original report but also urges the high court to direct the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against those implicated in the alleged sexual offenses detailed in the document. The Justice K Hema Committee, established following the infamous 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep, aimed to address sexual harassment and gender inequality within the Malayalam cinema industry.
Despite the report being completed in 2019, its details have been withheld from public release due to concerns over sensitive information. A previous attempt to publish a censored version of the report was halted by the Kerala High Court in July, following a plea by a Malayalam film producer.
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The case saw further delays after an actress’s plea led to another hearing on August 19, with the division bench subsequently referring the matter to a single bench, which has been handling multiple related petitions.
