Hema Committee Report PDF Free Download

Hema Committee Report PDF Download Info

The Kerala High Court, However, Dismissed An Appeal Filed By Actress Ranjini Against A Single-judge Bench’s Order Allowing The Release Of A Report On The Working Conditions Of Women In The Industry, Leading To A Decision To Make Public The Findings Of The Report.

Hema Committee Report PDF Free Download

Finally, After All The Debates And Local Discussions Over The Release Of The Findings, The Kerala Government Released The Report On Monday By The Justice Hema Committee, Constituted To Probe The Issues Relating To Female Artists In The Malayalam Industry.

The Kerala High Court Dismissed An Appeal Of Actress Ranjini Against The Order Of A Single-judge Bench Allowing The Release Of A Report On Working Conditions For Women In The Industry, Which Prompted The Decision To Make Public The Findings Of A Report Prepared By The Women In Cinema Collective.

The Committee Submitted Its Report To The Government In 2019. Though The Report Was Filed Five Years Back, Its Contents Were Not Disclosed As It Was Felt That It Contained Sensitive Information.

The State Public Information Officer Was Directed By The State Information Commission On July 5 To Judiciously Share The Information Contained In The Report Without Compromising Individual Privacy.

The Committee Was Constituted To Probe Sexual Harassment And Gender Inequality In The Malayalam Film Industry Following The 2017 Actress Assault Case Involving Actor Dileep. Though The Committee Filed Its Report In December 2019, The Government Did Not Publish The Report Or Any Corrective Action On The Ground That It Will Amount To Infringing The Privacy Concerns Of Several Women Who Deposed Before The Commission.

What Does The Report Say?

The Report Has Brought Into The Public Domain Something That Was Suspected But Not Really Known: Sexual Exploitation And Discrimination Against Women In The Malayalam Film Industry.

Some Of The Important Findings Of This One-man Panel Include Threats And Compulsions For Sexual Favors, Forcing Them To Reveal Their Bodies In Films Without Their Consent, Not Providing Basic Amenities And Even Proper Food On Set, And Even Discriminating Against Them In Terms Of Pay. A Few Women Have Even Admitted In Court That The Malayalam Film Industry Does Indeed Use A Casting Couch.

It Adds, The Committee Further States That The Malayalam Film Industry Is In The Grip Of Some “Criminal Mafias.” Many Directors, Producers, And Actors Are Part Of The Sexual Favor-seeking System. Women Producers Are A Victim Of Harassment Too. These ‘item Songs’ Are Usually There In Films Only For The Purpose Of Projecting Women, The Statement Reads.

The Committee Also Takes Cognizance Of The Fact That There Has To Be A Government-controlled Machinery For Redressing The Grievances Of Women In The Film Industry, Since The Other Mechanisms Like Internal Complaints Committee Would Be Effectively Bystanders.

Responses

Replying To This, Saji Cheriyan, Minister Of Cultural Affairs, Said The Government Was Planning To Hold A Cinema Conclave To Solve Various Problems In The Film And Serial Industries. He Further Said That The State Information Commission Had Issued An Interim Order Earlier That The Report Should Not Be Published, And Hence The Government Did Not Publish It So Far.

He Further Said That, Other Than The General Concerns Raised By The Women In Cinema Collective, No Woman Working In The Film Industry Had Brought Any Specific Complaints Of Harassment To Him As The Minister In Charge Of Cinema. “The Government Will Take Strict Action If Any Woman Makes A Complaint,” He Continued.

Actor Ranjini, Known As Sasha Selvaraj, Challenged A Single Judge’s Order Upholding The State Information Commission’s Order To Make Public—except For Limited Redactions—the Justice K. Hema Committee Report On Working Conditions For Women In The Malayalam Film Industry, But The Same Was Dismissed By The Division Bench Of The Kerala High Court On Monday, 19 August 2024.

The Bench Comprising The Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaq And Justice S. Manu Directed The Actor To Approach A Single Judge By Filing A Writ Petition Challenging The Sic’s Decision.

Ms. Ranjini Argued That, In The Instant Case, The Information Officer Was Exercising His Or Her Discretion And, In The Process, Sensitive Portions Of The Report Were Redacted, Which May Have Dented Her Right To Privacy. She Clarified That Her Misgivings Were Not In The Report’s Publication As Such, But The Order That Gives The Information Officer Sole Discretion In Determining Whether Or Not To Protect The Privacy Of Those Who Deposed Before The Committee.

She Also Opined That The People Who Were Shown Their Statements Were Unaware Of The Parts That Would Be Withheld. She Had The Legitimate Expectation That Her Legal Right To Privacy Would Be Upheld With The Guarantee Of Confidentiality That Her Privacy Would Never Be Violated By The Report. Whereupon, The State Information Commissioner Was Improper To Order Publication Of The Report Without Consulting With All Parties Concerned, Much Less Herself.

Further, She Also Pointed Out That Article 21 (Right To Privacy) Should Precede Article 19(1)(A) (Right To Information) When The Two Are In Conflict With Each Other.

The Committee Was Formed After The 2017 Sexual Assault Of An Actor And Is Headed By The Retired Kerala High Court Judge K. Hema. On 31 December 2019, The Committee Submitted Its Report To The Government Of Kerala. It Has Not Been Published Yet, Though, As It Contains Sensitive Information.

It Was The Sic’s Order On The Rti Act Applications. The Report Was Anticipated To Come Out On Saturday, August 17, 2024. However, It Had Been Postponed After The Actor Filed An Appeal.