KOCHI: At a time when there is a vociferous demand for releasing the Justice K Hema Committee report, the Kerala State Women’s Commission has come out with a request to release the suggestions and conclusions of the committee.
A petition filed before the Kerala High Court by the member secretary of the Women’s Commission stated that “The Women’s Commission is a statutory body constituted to improve the status of women in Kerala and to inquire into unfair practices affecting women and such other connected matters. Hence, it requests that the logical conclusions reached based on the inquiry and suggestions made by the Hema Committee be published since that would serve the purpose for which it was constituted. This would also be a guide to the government to take appropriate measures to ensure safety, security and improved working conditions for women in the film industry.”
The plea of the Commission also stated that it respects the privacy of all individuals involved in the proceedings. Therefore, the conclusions and recommendations, excluding any deliberations in the report that adversely affect personal privacy, may be published in the public interest. Hence, the Commission needs to get implead in the case and that would benefit the entire community of women working in the film industry. The Commission applied for a petition filed by film producer Sajimon Parayil challenging the order of the State Information Commission directing to disclose the report, with limited redactions. The Women’s Commission also stated that it would like to file a counter affidavit in response to the petition.
In another development, Ajith Kumar of Thiruvananthapuram, who was an RTI applicant for the report, informed the Kerala High Court that the state government purposefully withheld the report to save the culprits.