The Kerala High Court charged the state government for not acting on the Justice Hema Committee report for years. The court also asked for the unredacted report to be handed over to the SIT.
Published Sep 10, 2024 | 5:38 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 11, 2024 | 2:52 PM
Kerala High Court criticised the state government over Justice Hema Committee report
After the Kerala government submitted the complete Justice Hema Committee report to the High Court, the court strongly criticised the state government for not taking action on the report for years now.
“Why wasn’t immediate action taken on the Hema Committee report,” asked the special bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha on Tuesday, 10 September. The bench asked the Kerala government to hand over the entire unredacted report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The committee, which was formed to look into the sexual exploitation complaints from women in the Malayalam cinema industry, gave its report to the state in 2019. However, the state didn’t act on it or even release it for four years, until it was instructed to by the apex court.
The special bench is currently examining appeals from producer Sajimon Parayil challenging the release of the Hema committee report and a public interest litigation (PIL) from women advocates A Jannath and Amrutha Premjith calling for a CBI investigation into the crimes outlined in the report, and petitions from TP Nandakumar and former MLA Joseph M Puthussery.
Additionally, a PIL submitted by Paayichara Navas requesting that the Kerala government initiate criminal proceedings against individuals accused of sexual abuse in the report is also under review with the special bench. Navas’ PIL argues that the state has to prosecute those involved in cognizable offences.
Referring to the fact that women are not a minority but a huge majority in Kerala, the High Court questioned the state government about how the concerns of majority were ignored for years. It also asked that media trials be avoided and insisted that officials refrain from disclosing sensitive information to the media.
(Edited by Neena with inputs from Sreelakshmi S)
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