Kerala High Court to constitute special court to hear cases related to Hema Commission report

The Malayalam film industry has come under the radar after female actors accused several male actors, directors and producers of sexual abuse. Now, the Kerala HC has decided to set up a special bench to hear the cases related to the Hema Commission report.

The Kerala High Court on Thursday announced the constitution of a two-member panel to hear cases arising out of the eye-opening revelations of the Hema Commission report on violence against women in Malayalam cinema. This exclusive bench will have a woman judge and will include Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambir and Justice CS Sudha. It was the plea of ​​producer Sajimon Parayil, seeking proactive steps to prevent widespread publicity of the entire Hema Commission report, that prompted this development.

Kerala HC to form special bench

A report by Manorama stated that it is not yet known whether the court will look into the sexual abuse cases. Meanwhile, Kollam MLA Mukesh and actor Edavela Babu, accused of rape after a female co-actor complained, are waiting for the High Court to consider their anticipatory bail pleas. However, the government is opposed to the idea of ​​granting bail to these two.

Many prominent personalities from the Malayalam film community have been implicated in unfortunate incidents of sexual harassment and molestation, supported by multiple witnesses. This has resulted in the filing of several official police reports. The list of accused includes artists like Siddique, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, Mukesh, Edavela Babu, Alencier and Nivin Pauly, along with film directors like Ranjith and Bhadran. These serious allegations come to light in the wake of the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report.

About the Hema Committee Report

In 2017, a case involving the sexual assault of an actress shed light on serious issues within the Malayalam film industry, with instances of abuse and exploitation of women coming to light. When allegations of sexual harassment against several actors and directors in the industry came to light, the Kerala government swung into action. On August 25, they announced the formation of a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SITF) with the responsibility of probing these serious allegations.