Kerala High Court constitutes Special Bench to hear cases on Hema Committee Report

The Kerala High Court has decided to constitute a Special Bench to hear matters arising out of the Justice K Hema Committee Report on the working conditions faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. .The report, which was released on August 19 after redacting all personal information, revealed widespread sexual abuse and casting couch practices in the industry. Since then, several women have come out with serious allegations against prominent figures in the industry leading to the registration of criminal cases and consequently, petitions for bail. Other petitions have also been filed seeking criminal action on the basis of the report. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu today confirmed in open court that a Special Bench has been constituted to hear all such matters, which would include a woman judge.A notice was subsequently issued by the High Court Registrar stating that the Special Bench would comprise Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha. .Justice K Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government in 2017 following a petition by the 'Women in Cinema Collective' to study the issues faced by women in the film industry.While the report was submitted to the State government in 2019, it was only earlier this year that the State Information Commission allowed a request by certain parties, mostly journalists, for access to the report after redaction of personal information to protect the privacy of witnesses..The High Court today was considering the appeal moved by film producer Sajimon Parayil against a single-judge order which upheld this decision of the Information Commission. The Division Bench orally observed that the matter has become infructuous but said that it would be posted before the Special Bench anyway. .One of the cases that will be posted before the Special Bench is a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking criminal action against those accused of sexual offences in the report. The Court has in that case ordered the State to submit a single copy of the complete report, without any redactions, in a sealed cover.Another PIL seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations in the report will likely be posted before the new Bench.The anticipatory bail applications filed by actor Siddique, director VK Prakash, and others in the rape or sexual harassment cases filed against them may also be heard by the Special Bench. .[Read Notice]