Kerala High Court Criticizes Government's Delay on Justice Hema Report

The Kerala High Court reprimanded the state government for its delayed response to the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment in the film industry. The court directed the state to hand over the report to the SIT for action and emphasized protecting victim and accused identities. A follow-up is scheduled for October 3.

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday criticized the Left government's inaction on the Justice Hema Committee report, describing the delay as 'alarming.' Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha noted the government received the report years ago and should have responded promptly. The court ordered the report be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for required action.

The court questioned why the state remained silent for so long, noting that Kerala has a large female population and highlighting the state's inaction in addressing the issues faced by women. It urged the government to hand over the entire report to the SIT, which was formed to investigate complaints of sexual harassment and assaults by female actors against male counterparts in the film industry.

The court also instructed the SIT to act judiciously without leaking victim or accused details and refused to issue a gag order, urging media restraint and directing the police to withhold unnecessary case details. The court mandated comprehensive legislation on the issue and requested an affidavit from the government by October 3, detailing actions taken so far. The Advocate General mentioned that the SIT was formed and 23 cases have been lodged based on complaints from female actors.

(With inputs from agencies.)