In the wake of actor Renjini approaching the Kerala High Court against the release of the Justice Hema Committee report on issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, the Kerala government on Saturday decided to postpone the release of the report until the court takes a decision on the actor’s petition.

Earlier, following the Kerala High Court’s rejection of a petition against the report’s release, the government had decided on Thursday to publish the report on Saturday after removing some personal details. On Thursday, the government instructed those who had filed applications under the RTI Act to collect their copies from the respective offices at 11 am on Saturday.

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A single bench of the High Court dismissed a petition filed by film producer Sajimon Parayil against the release of the report on Tuesday. The court directed the government to release the report within one week.

Following this, actor Renjini on Friday approached the Kerala High Court, arguing that the report’s release would violate her fundamental rights to privacy and breach the confidentiality promised to witnesses, including herself, who had deposed before the committee. The High Court will consider Renjini’s plea on Monday. Renjini was among the women in the film industry who had given statements to the Justice Hema Committee.

In this connection, Kerala culture minister Saji Cherian said on Saturday that neither the state government nor the culture department has any role in the publication of the report. The government has directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to make a decision based on the High Court’s order.

The Kerala government constituted the Justice Hema Committee to examine the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry following a petition filed by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) in 2017. The Committee submitted its report to the government in 2019, but the government declined to make it public despite several requests under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). On July 5, the State Information Commission directed the disclosure of the report after redacting certain portions.

Film producer Sajimon Parayil challenged this decision in the Kerala High Court, which dismissed his petition on August 13.