Kerala HC slams state for failing to act on Hema commission report for five years, asks to hand over uncensored version to SIT

Kerala High Court Report on Justice Hema Commission

Kerala High Court criticised the state government over the Justice Hema Commission report

After the Kerala government submitted the full report of the Justice Hema Commission to the Supreme Court, the court strongly criticised the state government for not taking action on the report for five years.

“Why was no immediate action taken on the Hema committee report?”, the special bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha asked on Tuesday, September 10. The bench asked the Kerala government to hand over the entire unredacted report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The commission, which was set up to investigate complaints of sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry, submitted its report to the state in 2019. However, the state did not act on it for five years or even published it, until the Supreme Court ordered it to do so.

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Cases before the special court

The special court is currently hearing appeals filed by producer Sajimon Parayil against the release of the Hema Commission report and a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by women lawyers A Jannath and Amrutha Premjith, calling for a CBI probe into the crimes detailed in the report. Petitions have also been filed by TP Nandakumar and former MLA Joseph M Puthussery.

Moreover, a PIL filed by Paayichara Navas, requesting the Kerala government to initiate criminal proceedings against persons accused of sexual abuse in the report, is also being heard by the special court. Navas’ PIL states that the state should prosecute those involved in cognizable offences.

Women are in the majority

Pointing out that women are not a minority but a huge majority in Kerala, the Supreme Court questioned the state government on how the concerns of the majority were ignored for years. It also asked that media trials be avoided and urged officials not to provide sensitive information to the media.

(Edited by Neena with inputs from Sreelakshmi S)

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