Sexual abuse in Malayalam film industry: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, September 10, came down heavily on the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government for failure to act on the findings of Hema Committee report, saying it has nothing but sit on the report for four years. The high court said it was taken aback by the “inaction” of the state government and directed the police to “go through the entire report” and “take action if any offences are made out in the report.”
The high court also directed the state government to handover the sealed report to SIT. “Why was the State government inactive till now even though it got the report in 2019? You have done nothing in 4 years except sit on the Hema Committee report," the Kerala High Court said in its remarks.
“When the report revealed such a malady in the system, what is the bare minimum that the state government should have done? We are taken aback by the lack of action by the State government. It is one thing to assure the confidentiality of the women who spoke to the committee and even those who have been accused may have the right to privacy. But dehors of this, when such issues are revealed in the report, shouldn't there be some action from the government? ... Why has the government done nothing till now? ... It is obligatory for the State to act on this. Silence is not an option,” Bar & Bench quoted the high court as saying.
The high court bench, comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha, also expressed concern over the problems faced by the women in general.
“What are you doing to address the problems faced by women in society? ... The bias against women in society is historic, knowingly or unknowingly. That is the mindset that has to change but that can only happen by citizens making the change internally,” it said.
The court has directed SIT to not hold any press conference regarding the Hema Committee report, adding that there should be no media trial on the sexual abuse cases in Malayalam film industry.
What were the findings of the Hema Committee report? The Hema Committee report was formed by the state government after the 2017 after a petition that issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry should be studied. The Hema Committee report, which documents instances of sexual harassment, casting couch practices and exploitation of women in the cinema industry, was submitted in 2019 and published in August 2024.
Since the publication of the Hema Committee report, many women have accused some prominent film stars and directors of sexual harassment or rape. Actor Nivin Pauly, director Ranjith Balakrishnan, Siddique, Mukesh, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju are some of the prominent figures that have been accused of either sexual assault or rape by women.
