Kerala HC Orders State to Submit ‘Hema Committee Report’ in Sealed Cover

The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the state government to submit the Hema Committee report on atrocities against women in the Malayalam film industry in a sealed cover.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu, was addressing a PIL filed by Navas from Thiruvananthapuram. The bench noted that the report contains serious allegations.

The high court admitted the writ petition and instructed the government to file its counter affidavit.

The court requested the government to outline its next course of action based on the report submitted by the Hema Committee. The government lawyer argued that it is not feasible to register a case unless a formal complaint is made.

The state government stated that it possesses all the names mentioned in the uncensored original report, which is a confidential document. The committee was tasked with studying and reporting on the situation of women in the film industry. However, due to the confidentiality of the statements recorded by the committee, the government cannot initiate cases based on these statements alone. The government added that cases will be registered if someone comes forward with a complaint.

On Thursday, the high court, on its own accord, added the State Women’s Commission to the matter.

The PIL sought the publication of the original report and requested the high court to direct the state government to initiate criminal proceedings related to the alleged sexual offences mentioned in the report.

The Justice K Hema Committee was established following the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep to investigate issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.

Although the report was submitted in 2019, the government did not release its details due to concerns about sensitive information.

Earlier, the release of the censored report, initially scheduled for July 24, was postponed following a plea from a Malayalam film producer.

The high court dismissed this plea on August 13 and directed the government to make the report public within a week. However, publication was further delayed due to a plea from an actress, which was considered by the high court on August 19.

The division bench of the high court referred the case to a single bench, which did not entertain the multiple petitions. The government subsequently released the report on Monday.