Kerala HC raps state govt for inaction on Hema Committee report
The court noted that the report includes facts that warrant the registration of cases under IPC and POCSO Act.
Following a high court order, the Kerala government, on Thursday, decided to release the report of Justice K Hema Committee which examined the challenges faced by women in the Malayalam film industry on Saturday.
The report will be released on Saturday after removing some personal details to protect privacy. It is after removing 63 out of the 285 pages that could impact the privacy of individuals,that the report will be released
The government has asked the persons who filed the application under the Right to Information Act( RTI Act) to receive the copy of the report from the respective offices at 11 am on Saturday.
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The decision to release the report that has been kept under wraps for four and a half years, comes after the high court dismissed a petition filed by Malayalam film producer Sajimon Parayil against its release.The court, dismissing the petition, directed the state government to release the report within a week.
The Kerala government had constituted the Hema Committee to study the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, after a petition filed by the Women in Cinema Collective(WCC) in 2017.The Committee, after studying the issues, submitted its report to the government.However, the government declined to disclose the contents in the report, despite several requests.On July 5, the State Information Commission (SIC) directed the state government to release the report after redaction of some portions of the report.
The SIC’s order was challenged in the Kerala High Court by film director Sajimon Parayil.
Sajimon in his petition contended that the SIC’s order didn’t comply with Section 11 of the RTI Act, which mandates notice to affected parties. He also contended that the release of the report would unfairly target prominent figures in the film industry.
However,the High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition observing that the petitioner failed to demonstrate how the report’s release would personally affect them.
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