The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the release of the Justice Hema committee report on sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, reported Bar and Bench.
A bench of Justice VG Arun directed that the report be published within a week.
The report was submitted to the state government more than four years ago.
On July 24, the High Court stayed its release, hours before it was to be made public. The order came on a petition filed by filmmaker Sajimon Parayil, who challenged the Kerala State Information Commission’s July 6 directive ordering the findings of the committee to be made public.
On Tuesday, the court rejected Parayil’s petition.
The three-member committee, comprising Justice Hema, veteran actor Sharada and former bureaucrat KB Valsalakumari, was formed in 2017, weeks after the Women In Cinema Collective met with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The collective had demanded an investigation into the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. This came in the aftermath of an alleged sexual assault case involving actor Dileep.
Despite getting the report in 2019, the Kerala government had declined to make it public. In January 2022, the state formed a panel to study the report and plan to implement its recommendations.
In its July 6 order, the state information commissioner A Abdul Hakkim had issued directions to release the entire report, except sections that are prohibited from being made public under the Right to Information Act. He said that the delay in releasing the report had undermined the purpose of constituting the committee.
Hakkim also ordered that sensitive information, which could violate the privacy of individuals, be withheld.
However, Parayil contended that the information commission’s order was against the public interest and violative of the right to the privacy of various persons, including himself
During the previous hearing, the state information commission and the government pleader questioned Parayil’s intentions alleging that he had a private interest, Bar and Bench reported.
The state argued that the public has a right to know the findings of the report which is aimed to improve the working conditions in the movie industry. The state information commission assured that all personal details had been redacted from the report to protect individuals’ privacy.
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