The Kerala High Court has constituted a special bench consisting of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha for hearing public interest litigations filed in connection with the Hema Committee report on issues faced by the women working in the Malayalam film industry.
The order in this regard has been issued as per the directive of Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque.
The High Court had earlier directed the State Government to produce the entire report of the Committee before the court on a public interest litigation seeking a directive to the State Government to initiate criminal proceedings against those who had sexually exploited and harassed women in the film industry as found by the Hema Committee.
CBI probe sought
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 A 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.
The special bench will also hear an appeal filed by Sajimon Parayil, a producer challenging the single judge’s order upholding the State Information Commissioner’s directive to release the Hema Committee report’s redacted version.