KOCHI: The public will soon receive details of the Justice Hema Committee report containing issues facing women in the Malayalam film industry, as the Kerala High Court on Tuesday upheld the State Information Commission's (SIC) order directing the state government to disclose a substantial portion of the report.
The court directed to release the report within one week.
Justice VG Arun issued the order while dismissing the petition filed by Film producer Sajimon Parayail against the SIC's order to disclose the Justice K. Hema Committee Report.
The petitioner argued that the disclosure violates fundamental privacy rights, breaches the confidentiality promised to witnesses, and goes against public policy. The petition also highlighted that widespread disclosure of the report, even with redactions, poses significant risks of identifying individuals who provided testimonies under assurances of confidentiality.
M Ajay, counsel for the SIC pointed out that the report had been shelved for the last four and a half years and the public has a right to know the contents of the report, as it was meant to improve conditions in the film industry. He pointed out that the commission had already taken steps to protect the privacy of individuals by redacting sensitive information.
About Justice K Hema Committee
In 2017, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) approached the Kerala government to address the pressing issues women face in the film industry. This plea for action followed a shocking incident where a prominent Malayalam actor was abducted and raped in a moving car. In response, the government decided to constitute the Committee on July 1, 2017.
The committee was chaired by retired Kerala High Court judge Justice K. Hema, with members--veteran actor Sharada and retired IAS officer K.B. Valsala Kumari.
The terms of reference of the Committee include the issues faced by women in cinema (like security etc) and solutions for them. The other issues looked at by the committee were the service conditions and remunerations for women in cinema, measures to enhance participation of women in all fields connected to cinema, how to bring more women into the technical side of cinema, by giving concessions including scholarships, etc, how to help women into the technical side of cinema when they have to remain out of work due to delivery, child care or other health issues, how to ensure gender equality in cinema and how to encourage cinemas in which 30 percent of woman are engaged in production activities.
The three-member Committee collected evidence of multiple women professionals in the Malayalam film industry and recorded their detailed accounts of sexual harassment, wages earned, and possible blacklisting from work, among other issues. The Committee functioned from November 16, 2017, to December 31, 2019.
After nearly two and half years of marathon inquiry, it submitted a 295-page report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on December 31, 2019, together with documents, audio, and video evidence in support of its findings. The state government spent Rs 1.06 crore for this committee as remuneration and related expenses. However, the government has not taken any concrete action based on the report.
Interestingly, the government decided not to make the report public. During the second Pinarayi government's rule, Minister Saji Cherian formed a new committee to examine the recommendations of Justice K Hema.
What was the State Information Commission's order?
SIC directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to provide all the information and attested copies of all relevant pages from the Committee report, except which is exempt from disclosure Under the RTI Act.
SIC also directed to personally scrutinize the report and sever information that is exempt from disclosure. While providing attested copies of the report, the SPIO should ensure that the materials do not lead to the identification of individuals referenced in the report or compromise their privacy. The SIC ordered the exemption of para 96 of page 49 of the report, Para 165 to 196 (Pages 81 to 100), and the appendix.
