Hema Committee Report: Kerala High Court to constitute special bench of women judges to hear petitions

Kerala High Court Building. | Photo credit: RK Nithin

The Kerala High Court will constitute a special bench comprising two women judges to hear the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed after the release of the Hema Committee report on the issues of women working in the Malayalam film industry.

A producer, Sajiman Parail, filed the appeal challenging the single judge order which upheld the State Information Commission (SIC) directive along with the revised version of the Hema Committee report, a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Chief Justice A Mohammad Mushtaq and Justices. S. Manu told the producer’s counsel that the court would constitute a special bench to hear all the petitions filed in the wake of the release of the report.

The bench had earlier directed the Kerala government to submit the full Hema committee report to the court while a public interest litigation sought directions to the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against sexual exploitation and harassment of women in films. As found by the HEMA Committee in Art.

The bench then observed that if the report discloses any cognizable offence, the court should decide whether criminal action is necessary or not.

The court said that the state government has not been able to proceed in the matter so far for the simple reason that no one has come forward with a complaint. But the fact remains that if reports reveal sexual exploitation and harassment of women, the court needs to address how these vulnerable women can be protected and what action can be taken against the perpetrators of the crime, the bench added.

Another application is pending

Another PIL seeking a CBI probe into the revelations of alleged sexual harassment in the Hema Committee report is also pending before the court. The petition filed by Jannath and another sought directions 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 was reluctant to register the crime based on the information published in the report. It also noted that the perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual assault are persons of high political influence and therefore it has created an apprehension in the public mind that such persons may be unfairly protected and an impartial investigation will not be conducted. the police

The petitioner alleged that the government had “failed to present the report before the Assembly raising doubts about the real intention of the state regarding the protection of women actors”.