Malayalam film industry: Kerala HC allows release of Justice Hema Committee report
The committee was formed in the backdrop of the 17 February 2017 incident in which a leading Malayali actress was kidnapped by a gang of men and sexually assaulted in a moving car near Kochi.
The Kerala high court on Tuesday dismissed a plea that challenged a state information commission order directing the release of the Justice K Hema Committee report on the working conditions and issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
The bench, headed by Justice VG Arun, dismissed the petition filed by film producer Sajimon Parayil and ordered that the contents of the report be published within a week.
Parayil had contended that issuing a copy of the report, even after certain portions are redacted, would compromise the privacy of the persons who gave statements to the committee, and against whom sexual harassment allegations may have been made. The report is believed to contain details of sexual harassment and abuse.
The high court, in its verdict, underlined that there are no conflicts between the rights to information and privacy in this case as the state information commission has incorporated sufficient safeguards in its order to ensure that the privacy of individuals is not breached.
“While the petitioner’s submission is based on mere speculation, the state information commission, after careful scrutiny of the document, has vouched that the privacy and anonymity of third parties will not be compromised. The concern expressed by Justice K Hema also stands allayed by the measures to ensure safety taken by the commission,” the court said.
The HC also said that the request by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and the state women’s commission to publish the report “is an indication of the public interest involved”.
The Justice Hema Committee was formed by the state government in the backdrop of the 17 February 2017 incident in which a leading Malayali actress was kidnapped by a gang of men and sexually assaulted in a moving car near Kochi. One of the prime accused in the case is actor Dileep, who faces charges of conspiracy, among other offences. The trial in the case is still underway.
Though the report was submitted to the government in 2019, it was never publicised despite strong calls by activists to do so.
Following the high court order, P Sathidevi, chairperson of the women’s commission, told reporters, “We believe that publishing the contents of the report is extremely important following the information commission’s order. The recommendations for sustainable, long-term solutions to the problems in the film industry must be revealed without affecting the privacy of individuals.”