Kerala HC slams govt for inaction on Hema committee report, calls it alarming

A special bench comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha said the government had received the report years ago and should have responded immediately. They directed that the entire report be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) so that it could take necessary action.

The question was also asked why the state had remained silent for so long.

The court noted that there are more women in Kerala and asked what the state was doing about the problems faced by women in the society.

According to the report, the government did not take action until more than four years after receiving the report.

It directed the government to submit the full report of the commission to the SIT, which was set up to investigate complaints of sexual harassment and assault by female actors against some of their male colleagues and others in the film industry.

The court said that the SIT can take action based on the report and the court will examine on the next date what steps the special team has taken.

At the same time, the court ruled that the SIT should not act hastily and that the data of the victims and suspects should not be made public.

The court also refused to impose a gag order, but said the media should hold back and ordered police not to release unnecessary details about the cases they are investigating.

The court also said that comprehensive legislation on the subject was needed and ordered the government to file a sworn statement detailing the steps it had taken before the next hearing on October 3.

During the hearing, the Advocate General, appearing on behalf of the state, said that measures have been taken, including the establishment of an SIT, and 23 cases have been filed based on the complaints of female actors.

The Justice Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress sexual assault case. The report exposed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

After the report was made public and allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation surfaced against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the formation of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations.