Won’t direct roving & fishing inquiry: Delhi HC on sexual harassment in film industry
The court said that the same was based on surmises without any empirical data and did not set out any specific complaint of sexual harassment faced by the women in the film industry
The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to order an inquiry into the gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment faced by women artists in the Indian film industry saying that it cannot direct a “roving and fishing inquiry” without a complaint.

A bench of acting chief justice Vibhu Bakhru and justice Tushar Rao Gedela was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Ajeesh Kalathi Gopi seeking directions to the National Commission for Women (NCW) to inquire into the human rights violation by constituting an expert committee and to recommend legislative amendments to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 for preventing exploitation.
Rejecting the petition, the court said that the same was based on surmises without any empirical data and did not set out any specific complaint of sexual harassment faced by the women in the film industry.
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“We will not direct roving & fishing inquiry. You can have a PIL, but it has to be based on complaint,” the court told advocate Gopi, who appeared as petitioner in person.
The bench added, “The present petition does not set out any specific complaint of sexual harassment for which no remedy is available. The entire plea is based on surmises without any empirical data. In the given circumstances we do not consider it apposite to accede to the prayer made by the petitioner & in view of the above, the petition is closed.”
Gopi’s plea was filed against the backdrop of the findings of Justice K Hema Committee Report, on the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema, released on August 19, established widespread sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry. Expecting widespread repercussions, 63 pages of the 295-page report was redacted before its release under the Right to Information Act (RTI).
The report based on primary evidence and direct testimonies from victims of sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry revealed that women were being asked to make certain “adjustments” and “compromises”- euphemisms for sexual favours, to secure or retain opportunities.
These two terms, the report added, are very familiar among women working in Malayalam cinema, who “are asked to make themselves available for sex on demand”.
In addition to sexual abuse, women actors are denied basic facilities like access to toilets and safe changing rooms even on filming sets. Women often have to find secluded spots to change or use the bathroom during outdoor shoots, with no access to water or basic facilities, the report said.
In his petition before the high court, advocate Gopi asserted that the similar issues persist across both regional and national film industries in India and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) based on the report had registered more than 40 FIRs.
This report and SIT’s action, the plea stated, underscored the need for a more thorough, authentic study of the broader film industry across the country to identify necessary legislative amendments.
“The report calls for immediate changes to current laws, highlighting severe instances of sexual harassment, human rights violations, fundamental rights abuses, which have escalated to the level of sexual slavery,” the plea claimed.
In September, the Kerala high court had constituted a special division bench comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha to consider the petitions related to the report.
On Wednesday, the Kerala government had informed the Kerala high court that 32 FIRs were registered on the basis of the report and the investigation was on.

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