Kerala HC blasts state govt for ignoring Hema Committee report; directs to hand over complete report to SIT
The Kerala High Court criticised the state government on Tuesday for not addressing the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry, for four years.
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FollowKochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (Sep 10) lashed out at the state government for failing to act on the Justice Hema Committee report, which revealed the sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry, for four years. The court has instructed the state government to transfer the report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The court raised this issue after the Attorney General informed them that action had been taken based on complaints received in the public domain following the publication of the report.
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“Why is the State Government inactive or silent from 31.12.2019 to now…When the state government has received a report based on an enquiry or committee set up by its own for gathering information...when the state government is apprised of a malady in society and commission of several offences, what is the bare minimum that the state government has to do? We are curious, rather, we are surprised or taken aback by the inaction on the part of the statement government," said the High Court as quoted by Live Law.
"In our view, the bare minimum expected of the state government when it received the report or at least when the DGP was given a copy in 2021, we are in 2024. And the state government has done nothing…One thing is assuring confidentiality of women who may have given the statements, we understand that. You may also have to assure confidentiality with regard to so called persons who have been named in the statements having committed the offence. They do have right to privacy and reputation but de hors all this when the state government is confronted or told that practices which is derogatory to women exist in the society, what is the bare minimum that you should do?," the court continued.Â
The Court has directed the SIT to submit an action taken report by the next hearing date. Following this, the Court will review the unredacted version of the report, which is currently sealed, to determine whether the SIT's actions or lack thereof are justified.
The case was reviewed by the Special Bench consisting of Justice A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice C. S. Sudha. This bench was established to address issues related to the Justice Hema Committee report, which was set up by the government in 2017. The report was published on August 19, 2024.
The Court has verbally warned against a media trial but has not issued a formal gag order. It emphasized that the media should act responsibly and avoid pressuring the SIT to make hasty decisions, as this could undermine the investigation and infringe upon the rights of those involved. The matter will now be heard on October 03.
