Taken aback by State's failure to act on Hema Committee report: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Monday grilled the State government on why it failed to take prompt action against the maladies and sexual abuse revealed by the Justice K Hema committee report on working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. .A Special Bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha noted that the State had done nothing except "sitting on" the report for four years even though it had access to the report since 2019. "Why was the State government inactive till now even though it got the report in 2019?" Justice Nambiar asked. Advocate General (AG) Gopalakrishna Kurup replied that this was because the committee had recommended that the report should not be published. The Court, however, was not impressed by the submission and said that it was taken aback by the State's inaction and silence."When the report revealed such a malady in the system, what is the bare minimum that the State government should have done? We are taken aback by the lack of action by the State government. It is one thing to assure the confidentiality of the women who spoke to the committee and even those who have been accused may have the right to privacy. But dehors of this, when such issues are revealed in the report, shouldn't there be some action from the government? ... Why has the government done nothing till now? ... It is obligatory for the State to act on this. Silence is not an option," the Court remarked.The Bench added that the concern is not just about the film industry but also about the larger issue about the discrimination and harassment faced by women in society."What are you doing to address the problems faced by women in society? ... The bias against women in society is historic, knowingly or unknowingly. That is the mindset that has to change but that can only happen by citizens making the change internally," Justice Nambiar remarked. The Bench said that it was high time that the government comes out with measures to address such larger issues..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, without any redactions, in a sealed cover..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, which was made public on August 19 albeit in a redacted form to protect the privacy of witnesses, had indicated that there was widespread sexual harassment and casting couch practices in the film industry.Several prominent members of the film industry have since been named as alleged perpetrators of sexual crimes, including rape.More recently, the Special Bench of Justices Nambiar and Sudha was constituted to hear matters arising out of the report, including petitions to investigate criminal allegations disclosed by the report. The unredacted copy of the report was handed over to the Court today..The Bench today expressed that its main concern lay in the State's failure to take any action to tackle the allegations divulged by the report. "We are primarily concerned with inaction of State government including not registering FIRs. You had the report, you had information. You entrusted the report to the DGP in 2020 but the DGP did nothing?" the Court asked."The report only narrates the events that have taken place. No particulars are included in the report. These are statements made to the committee on the solemn assurance that no details will be revealed," AG Kurup explained. But the Bench was not satisfied."You could take necessary action on the offences revealed in the report. And if the victim or survivor is not interested in prosecuting the case, you can drop it. But at least some action should be taken," Justice Sudha replied..The Court then asked the State on whether it has taken any measures to implement the suggestions made by the committee. Though the AG replied that the State has taken some steps, the Court was not convinced. "What action? You have done nothing in four years except sit on the report," Justice Nambiar observed. The Court proceeded to order the State to handover an unredacted copy of the report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is presently probing sexual crimes that have been reported recently in the wake of the report's publication,"We want a report after Onam vacation on what cognizable offences are revealed and what action has been taken. Then we will open the sealed cover and see if SITs action or inaction is justified," the Court added. .The Court also cautioned that the SIT should not be pressured to act in haste and that there should be no media trial in the matter. The Court specifically said that the SIT should refrain from revealing details to the press."No press conferences from the SIT. No media trial in this case. We are not saying the investigating officers shouldn't talk to the press but that they shouldn't reveal any details," Justice Sudha said. The Court also said that it expects restraint from the press while reporting on the issue. However, it also said that there is no necessity for the time being to issue any media gag in the matter. "We don't think there is any necessity to issue any gag order to the media. The media can be responsible. The caveat is only this that now that this Court is seized of this, there should be no pressure on the SIT to act in haste. If you act in haste there is likely to be a trampling of the rights of the accused and the victims. We can only express our hope that the media will exercise restraint. We will wait and see. No gag order for the media now ... It is not just courts who have to protect the fundamental rights. The State also has a duty. Even the media has a duty to respect the right to privacy of individuals," Justice Nambiar said. .Another PIL seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations in the report will also be examined by the Special Bench. An appeal moved by film producer Sajimon Parayil against a single-judge order which refused to stop the release of the report is also posted for hearing before the same Bench. .[Read Live Coverage]