The Kerala High Court, on Tuesday, dismissed a plea opposing the release of the Justice Hema Commission report on issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. The 300-page report supposedly contains sensitive information about exploitation and harassment within the industry.
The committee, led by Justice K. Hema, was officially appointed on July 1, 2017 following the infamous February 2017 abduction case in which a popular Malayalam actor was abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men in a moving car. The committee submitted its final report on December 31, 2019.
The petitioner, Sajimon Parayil, a producer in the Malayalam industry, argued that releasing the report would violate the privacy of individuals in the film industry. "Given the interconnected nature of the film industry, seemingly innocuous details could lead to the identification of witnesses or complainants, potentially exposing them to retaliation or further harassment," said his petition.
However, the court dismissed the plea and ordered the report's release within a week. On July 7, State Information Commissioner A. Abdul Hakeem overrode the SIC's previous stance and ordered the release of the controversial report without withholding any information, except that which pertained to individual privacy. The State Information Commission was set to make the report public on July 25, but Parayil obtained a stay from the High Court.
Parayil argued that there is no public interest in publishing the report at this time and noted that the SIC had previously denied its release. However, the SIC informed the court that a redacted version of the report could be published, ensuring that individual privacy would not be compromised.
The Kerala government spent over ₹1 crore on the committee’s functioning alone. However, successive Pinarayi Vijayan governments faced allegations of withholding the report due to pressure from powerful individuals in the industry and beyond. With the High Court's judgment, only a week remains now until the release of the trimmed version of the controversial report.
