Kerala Govt omitted 129 key paragraphs from Hema Committee report
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Aug 23, 2024, 12:19 PM ISTThe Kerala government is facing criticism for redacting more parts of the Hema Commission report than recommended by the State Information Commission, sparking concerns about transparency and accountability.
Thiruvananthapuram: A controversy has erupted over the Kerala government's move to withhold more sections of the Hema Commission report than advised by the State Information Commission (SIC). Specifically, the government has redacted pages 49 to 53 of the report, fueling concerns about transparency and accountability. The government has redacted a substantial portion of the report, withholding 129 paragraphs, sparking accusations of secrecy. This starkly contrasts the Information Commission's recommendation to withhold only 21 paragraphs.
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The government's notification to applicants failed to mention the omitted sections, sparking concerns about transparency. While the government claims to have released the report with privacy in mind, it appears to have contradicted the Information Commission's guidelines by including the 96th paragraph, which was supposed to be redacted. The 96th paragraph in the report spoke of the sexual abuse faced by women from well-known personalities.
"On analysis of evidence placed before us, we are satisfied that women face sexual harassment even from very well-known people in the film industry, who were named before the committee. On considering the various aspects we have no reason to disbelieve what was stated before us regarding sexual harassment in the film industry," the paragraph said.
On Thursday, the Kerala High Court acknowledged a writ petition requesting the release of the full report and demanding strict action against the accused. The court has instructed the government to submit a counter-affidavit. While the committee had protected the anonymity of witnesses to promote open testimony from women, the court now needs to determine if criminal charges are justified.
The Kerala government established the Justice Hema Committee in 2017 to address the challenges faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, following a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). Under the chairmanship of Justice K Hema, the committee included actor Sharada and former IAS officer KB Vatsala Kumari as members, and submitted its report on December 31, 2019.
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