KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday strongly criticized the state government for not taking legal action based on the Justice K Hema Committee report, which revealed instances of sexual assault against women in the Malayalam film industry.
The court questioned, "Why was the State government inactive till now, even though it received the report in 2019?" The court noted that the government had done nothing for more than four years except sit on the report.
A Special Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice C.S. Sudha directed the state government to hand over the entire Hema Committee report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) already constituted to investigate complaints on this matter.
"Then we will open the sealed cover and see if the SIT’s action or inaction is justified. If audio and video recordings are part of the Report, they can also be handed over to the SIT," said the Bench.
The Bench issued the order in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by Navas A, of Thiruvananthapuram, seeking a directive for the State government to initiate criminal proceedings against those accused of sexual exploitation and harassment of women in the film industry. The Bench is also considering petitions related to the Hema Committee report.
During the hearing, Advocate General K. Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted that the DGP had constituted a special investigation team to look into the complaints of sexual assault. A total of 23 cases have been registered in different police stations and are transferred to the SIT. However, these cases are based on complaints filed following the release of the report, not directly on the report itself.
The Advocate General also stated that the Hema committee had specifically recommended that the report not be published and sent a letter to the Cultural Affairs Department directing it to keep the report confidential, as it contained details of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse disclosed by women in privacy during in-camera proceedings.
Upon hearing this, the bench emphasized that some action should have been taken when the state government received the report or when the state police chief received a copy in February 2021.
When informed by the Advocate General that no crime had been registered based on the report, the court questioned why the government argued that the registration of crimes was unnecessary when the report narrates several offences.
"Prima facie offences under the IPC and POCSO Act are made out. Why no action?" the court asked.
The Advocate General stated that the report only narrated instances and did not reveal the identities of the victims or perpetrators, nor did it specify the time or place of the incidents.
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