The Indian Express: Kochi: Wednesday, 14 August 2024.
The Kerala High Court on
Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the release of the report of the
Justice Hema committee, which looked into the problems faced by women
professionals in the Malayalam film industry.
On July 24 the high court, in an interim order, stayed the release of the report following a petition moved by producer Saji Parayil, who had challenged the State Information Commission’s July 6 directive to make the findings public. The information commission stepped in after the cultural affairs department, which appointed the Hema committee in 2017, declined to disclose the report under the Right to Information Act.
A bench of Justice V G Arun lifted the stay and ordered that the report be published within a week. The court had given the interim stay hours before the state government was slated to release the report.
The issue of publicising the committee report has been controversial in Kerala. The Government had earlier decided not to reveal the report, which has been with it for the last five years. The cultural affairs department was not ready to hand over a copy of the report even under the RTI Act.
In July 2017, the Government formed a three-member committee headed by retired high court judge K Hema to look into the woes of women in the film industry, including their safety, salary and working conditions. The demand for a committee to examine the issues faced by women in the industry came after a leading woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving van in Kochi in February 2017. The incident exposed the insecurity of women professionals in the industry.
After recording statements from several women professionals in the film industry, the committee submitted a 300-page report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in December 2019. It had recommended the formation of a tribunal to look into the issues faced by women in the industry.
Instead of disclosing it, the Government in January 2022 formed a panel to study the report and work out a plan to implement its recommendations.
In May 2022, the Government released a draft of the recommendations of the Hema committee, which suggested making job contracts mandatory in the sector. Other recommendations included equal wages for men and women, ban on use of drugs and liquor at shooting locations, and safe working conditions for women at the locations.
On July 24 the high court, in an interim order, stayed the release of the report following a petition moved by producer Saji Parayil, who had challenged the State Information Commission’s July 6 directive to make the findings public. The information commission stepped in after the cultural affairs department, which appointed the Hema committee in 2017, declined to disclose the report under the Right to Information Act.
A bench of Justice V G Arun lifted the stay and ordered that the report be published within a week. The court had given the interim stay hours before the state government was slated to release the report.
The issue of publicising the committee report has been controversial in Kerala. The Government had earlier decided not to reveal the report, which has been with it for the last five years. The cultural affairs department was not ready to hand over a copy of the report even under the RTI Act.
In July 2017, the Government formed a three-member committee headed by retired high court judge K Hema to look into the woes of women in the film industry, including their safety, salary and working conditions. The demand for a committee to examine the issues faced by women in the industry came after a leading woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving van in Kochi in February 2017. The incident exposed the insecurity of women professionals in the industry.
After recording statements from several women professionals in the film industry, the committee submitted a 300-page report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in December 2019. It had recommended the formation of a tribunal to look into the issues faced by women in the industry.
Instead of disclosing it, the Government in January 2022 formed a panel to study the report and work out a plan to implement its recommendations.
In May 2022, the Government released a draft of the recommendations of the Hema committee, which suggested making job contracts mandatory in the sector. Other recommendations included equal wages for men and women, ban on use of drugs and liquor at shooting locations, and safe working conditions for women at the locations.
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