THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a setback to the government, the State Information Commission (SIC) on Saturday ordered to release the report of the Hema Committee that looked into issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. Despite demands from various corners, the state government has refused to release the report which was submitted in 2019.
In his order, State Information Commissioner A Abdul Hakeem directed the government to release the report before July 25, with exclusions only for information restricted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Justice K Hema Committee was set up in 2017 to study issues of harassment against women and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema. The report is believed to contain highly sensitive information. “It is very important to notice that any document registered in a government office is a public record, and the public authority is its custodian,” the report stated.
The SIC directed the public information officer concerned to personally review the report to identify and sever the information that is exempt from disclosure. As per the order, the committee report should be issued exempting nearly 20 pages.
The information commissioner also criticised the stance taken by government officials who resisted releasing the report. According to the order, officers should not withhold information based on their personal opinions or advice. “The stance taken by the respondents in this regard is clearly to obscure the facts and findings of a study report commissioned by the government with the aim of reforming and advancing a significant art sector that can rapidly influence and create movements in human social life, focusing on the health, employment, cultural, and personal security of women in that sector,” observed Hakeem in the report. He criticised the withholding of the report for so long, citing that it undermines the purpose of forming the Hema Committee itself.
Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian said the government will take a call on releasing the Hema committee report after studying it.
Women’s issues in film field
Justice K Hema Committee was set up to study issues of harassment against women and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.
Commission vs Committee
Contrary to general perception, the Justice K Hema Committee doesn’t fall within the purview of the Commission of Enquiries as it’s not a commission. Minister Saji Cherian has made this clear in the assembly two years ago.
The Hema Committee was a panel constituted through an executive order of the government. While the government is bound to table the report by a Commission before the assembly within six months, there’s no such binding clause as far as a committee report is concerned. The government can take a call on whether to accept or reject the report, release the same or send for further verification.
Commission directs cultural affairs dept to furnish info to RTI applicants before July 25
Earlier, Saji Cherian had told the assembly that Justice K Hema herself had urged the government to keep the report confidential. However, legal experts differed with this justification.
In ‘Express Dialogues’ interview with TNIE, Justice K Narayana Kurup had said: “The function of an inquiry commission is to submit the report as per the terms of reference. As per the Commissions of Inquiry Act, the report must be submitted before the assembly. It’s not mandatory to make it public. However, the commission itself cannot make a decision as to whether the report should be made public or not.”
The SIC, in its order, mentioned that while providing attested copies of the Hema Committee report, the public information officer must respect the privacy of individuals mentioned in the report, avoiding any details related to identifying details.
The SIC has directed the department of cultural affairs to furnish the information to RTI applicants before July 25. If the order is not implemented, the state public information officer and Appellate Authority must appear before the SIC on July 27.The Hema Committee was the first panel in the country where a state government officially appointed a panel to conduct a comprehensive study into issues in the film sector. The committee was established following demands from the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). Led by retired High Court judge Justice K Hema, the committee had veteran actor Sarada and ex-IAS officer K B Valsala Kumari as members.
The committee started working in November 2017 and submitted its report on December 31, 2019. But, the government decided not to release the same despite journalists and information rights activists filing multiple RTIs.
