Hema Committee report: Kerala HC's Special Bench's 1st sitting today

Kochi: The newly formed special bench of the Kerala High Court will hold its first sitting on Tuesday and will be given an uncensored copy of the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the terrible work conditions and sexual exploitation of women in the industry.

This is a momentous time for the Malayalam film industry, where notable figures are facing numerous allegations of sexual harassment.

A division bench, headed by acting Chief Justice A. Muhamad Mustaque, on Thursday, set up the special bench, consisting of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and C.S. Sudha, to now hear the petitions related to all cases pertaining to the Malayalam film industry that has now surfaced.

The Justice K Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government in 2017 and the report was submitted to the state government in 2019 but it was after a long-drawn legal battle the report was finally released on August 19, leading to numerous former actresses opening up with allegations of sexual harassment by several prominent industry figures. Based on the complaints, the Kerala Police have so far registered FIRs against 11 people, including 10 from the film industry. Those who are in the dock include actor-turned-CPI-M legislator Mukesh Madhavan, Nivin Pauly, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju, directors Ranjith and Prakash, and production executives Vichu and Noble.

Mukesh, Ranjith, and Raju have, by now, secured relief from the court.

Meanwhile, amid the political spat that was triggered by the revelations of the report and the surging complaints, especially against sitting lawmaker Mukesh Madhavan, the Congress has alleged the Pinarayi Vijayan government has been protecting the accused and that was why the release of the report was delayed. The party also alleged that even though the Chief Information Commissioner, while clearing the release of the Hema Committee report, sought certain paragraphs be redacted, the Vijayan government redacted more content than was directed.

On Tuesday, the newly constituted bench will be given the uncensored report of the Hema Committee and this has caused heartburn in the already beleaguered film industry, especially the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) whose newly elected executive committee, led by its President Mohanlal stepped down when it found the number of their members figuring in the list of accused.

It remains to be seen what action it takes.

With inputs from IANS