Kerala High Court cautions media on reporting about Hema Committee Report

The Kerala High Court on Thursday cautioned media against reporting on matters related to the Justice K Hema Committee Report in any manner that may lead viewers to believe that it was a statement given by a victim to either the committee or to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual harassment cases..The caveat was issued by the Special Bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha which was constituted to hear matters arising out of the report which revealed widespread sexual harassment and casting couch practices in the Malayalam film industry."On our part, we issue a caveat to media personnel that reporting any information in relation to the Justice Hema Committee report, that might lead viewers to believe that a statement aired in the program was the statement actually given by the victim before the SIT or the Justice Hema Committee, will be viewed very seriously by this Court by deeming the same to be an unnecessary interference with the administration of justice," the Court's order stated. .The Court also directed that the SIT probing cases arising out of the allegations should inform the Bench if any journalist repeatedly asks them for information regarding their investigation. "We direct the members of the SIT to issue a general warning to media personnel, who approach them for information regarding the progress of the investigation, or for getting details of the persons against whom such investigation is ongoing to desist from the same, and in the event of any continued attempts on the part of the said media personnel, the SIT shall report such instances to this Court, if need be, by producing such evidence as they may feel fit," the order stated. .The Justice K Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government in 2017 following a petition by the 'Women in Cinema Collective' to study issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.The report was made public on August 19, albeit in a redacted form. Several prominent members of the film industry have since been named as alleged perpetrators of sexual crimes including rape..The matters before the Special Bench include a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking criminal action against those accused of sexual offences in the report. In this matter, another Bench of the Court had earlier ordered the State to submit a single copy of the complete report in a sealed cover without any redactions..In its first sitting on September 10, the Court had grilled the State government on why it failed to take prompt action against the sexual abuse revealed in the report.The Court had also directed the media to exercise restraint and adhere to an appropriate code of conduct while publishing news on any aspect of the report and to accord due respect to the privacy of the victims and accused. .However, during the hearing on Thursday, the Court was informed that a program was aired on Reporter TV on September 16 revealing that an actress had given a statement to Justice Hema Committee accusing a film director and a prominent male actor. This prompted the Court to issue a warning to media on Thursday. .[Read Order]