Plea in Kerala High Court to implement Hema Committee suggestions on film industry reforms

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking the enforcement of recommendations made by the Justice K Hema Committee to address the sexual harassment and labour rights issued flagged by it in the Malayalam film industry [TB Minu v State of Kerala & ors].

The petition filed by a lawyer, advocate TB Minu, includes prayers to order the framing of a law to address the issues flagged by the Hema committee, to ensure that independent Internal Complaints Committee (ICCs) are set up on film sets to check on sexual harassment, to curb the use of drugs and alcohol on film sets, and to ensure that proper contracts are in place for film artists.

She stated that while cinema industry is bound to comply with existing labour and safety laws, there has been no proper enforcement of these protections.

The petition also criticised the government’s inaction in preventing criminal activities on film sets.

The lack of government action has left workers, particularly women, exposed to exploitation and violations of their fundamental rights, particularly under Article 21 of the Constitution, the plea added.

"The inaction on the part of the government will create various issues, and the crime and violation of fundamental rights will continue", it said.

The petition further highlighted that in an earlier ruling, the Kerala High Court had already called for film producers to ensure that ICCs under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act (PoSH Act) are set up at film sets.

However, Minu has raised concern that the ICCs actually set up on film sets were often 'for name’s sake', and comprising of individuals closely associated with the film producers, which compromised the independence of such committees.

As interim relief, Minu has urged the Court to directing the Kerala Film Chamber to constitute internal complaints committees on all cinema sets and ensure the formation of a statutory body to oversee their functioning.

To ensure that labour rights of film artists are protected, a prayer has also been made to order the Kerala Film Chamber to impose stricter regulations on film producers, requiring them to register contracts for all workers before filming begins, to ensure safe working conditions and proper wages. 

"There should be an independent statutory body constituted by the government to address the serious findings of Justice Hema Committee" the petition added.

The Justice K Hema Committee is a three member committee that was tasked with examining the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. Its report was submitted to the State government in December 2019.

In August this year, its findings were made public, albeit in a redacted form to keep the identities of witnesses confidential.

The report spoke of various issues plaguing Mollywood including sexual harassment, casting couch practices, and poor working conditions.