The Kerala High Court announced on Thursday its decision to form a five-judge special bench, including women judges, to handle cases concerning the Justice Hema Committee report. The announcement was made by a bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S. Manu during a hearing of a plea that contested a single judge’s decision to permit the release of the committee’s report.
The establishment of the special bench comes after a single judge on August 13 dismissed a petition by film producer Sajimon Parayil, who objected to the State Information Commission’s order. The Commission’s decision on July 5 had directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to disseminate the report’s findings, ensuring that individual privacy was not compromised.
Parayil subsequently appealed against the single judge’s ruling to a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Mustaque, which then resolved to create this specialized bench to oversee related matters.
The Justice Hema Committee was initially formed by the Kerala government following the 2017 actress assault case, focusing on issues of harassment and exploitation within the Malayalam film industry. The revelations of sexual harassment and exploitation triggered by the public release of the report led the state government to establish a seven-member special investigation team on August 25 to examine these allegations against various actors and directors.
