KOCHI: The Kerala High Court criticised the state government for mysteriously maintaining sphinx-like silence on the Justice K Hema Committee report though it was submitted to the government in 2019. The court made the remarks in the order rejecting anticipatory bail for actor Siddique.
Justice C S Dias said that it was only through the intervention of the High Court that the report saw the light of day. Subsequently, the government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to take action against the offenders named in the report, but based on independent complaints filed by the victims.
Following this, several victims filed complaints before the police. The court noted that the directive to publicise the Hema Committee report has presumably emboldened the victims, like the survivor who filed a complaint against Siddique, to step forward.