The Hindu: Kochi: Wednesday, 14 August 2024.
The Kerala High Court on
Tuesday observed that if the measures initiated by the government to alleviate
the grievances regarding harassment and discrimination raised by women working
in cinemas are to attain finality by implementation of the recommendations of
the Justice Hema Committee, there has to be debates and discussions in the
public domain, prompting the State government to act expeditiously. Justice
V.G. Arun made the observations while dismissing a plea against the State
Information Commission’s order to make public the Justice Hema Committee report
with redactions. The court added that it can be achieved only by understanding
the reasons that had led to the recommendations in the report. The media has a
major role in initiating such discussions. Therefore, the apprehension that the
applicants under the RTI Act may utilise the report to malign individuals is
misplaced. The court further observed that the conflict between the two rights,
information and privacy, can lead to complex ethical dilemmas and legal
imbroglio. In the case at hand, there is no such conflict, the State
Information Commission having incorporated sufficient safeguards in its order
to ensure that the privacy of individuals is not breached by issuing copies of
the redacted report. The court added that the State Information Commission,
after careful scrutiny of the document, had vouched that the privacy and
anonymity of third parties will not be compromised. The court further observed
that even though the learned counsel for the petitioner had elaborately argued
about the exemptions, particularly section 8(1)(j)of the Right to Information
Act, the contentions lose significance when compared to the public interest
involved in disclosing the contents of the report.
The vociferous request by the members of the Women in Cinema Collective, at whose request the Justice Hema Committee was constituted and the State Women’s Commission, the body constituted to uphold women’s rights, in support of the order is an indication of the public interest involved.
The vociferous request by the members of the Women in Cinema Collective, at whose request the Justice Hema Committee was constituted and the State Women’s Commission, the body constituted to uphold women’s rights, in support of the order is an indication of the public interest involved.
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