BREAKING | Kerala High Court Stays Publication Of Justice Hema Commission Report On Issues Faced By Women In Film Industry
The Kerala High Court has passed an interim order of stay for one week on an order of the State Information Commissioner directing to make Justice Hema Commission Report public. Tomorrow was the last date given by the Commission to publish the report. The Commission had said that it was in the larger public interest that the report be made public.
The Justice K. Hema Committee was established in 2017, and tasked with studying and suggesting solutions for issues faced by women in the film industry.
The interim order was passed by Justice PM Manoj in a plea moved by movie producer Sajimon Parayil. He challenged the order of the State Information Commissioner to disclose the Hema Commission report after redacting portions which affected the privacy of persons who gave testimonies to the Commission and other connected persons.
The petitioner argued that making the report public would affect the privacy of the person who gave testimonies to the commission. The petitioner said that the testimony was given under the promise of confidentiality. Even if some portions are redacted, the film industry is so interconnected that even innocuous details can lead to the identification of the person, which can lead to further harassment.
The petitioner also argued that the report contains testimonies of sexual harassment. However, no opportunity was given to persons who were alleged offenders to present their side of the story. It was stated that this would harm their reputation and livelihood.
The petitioner argued: “This disclosure would breach the confidentiality assured to those who provided testimony, potentially exposing them to retaliation and harassment. Therefore, the petitioner seeks to challenge this order to uphold the principles of privacy, confidentiality, and responsible governance, and to prevent the potential destabilization of an entire industry based on a report that was meant to be confidential and has not been subject to proper scrutiny or rebuttal from affected parties”
The petitioner also argued that the Commission was not instituted as a fact-finding mission. It was constituted to find a solution to the problems faced by women in cinema industry.
In 2017, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and submitted a petition highlighting the issues faced by women in the industry. The Government of Kerala constituted a committee on 01.07.2017 to study these issues and appointed former High Court judge Justice K. Hema as the Chairperson. The Committee was constituted to look into the following matters:
- Issues faced by women in cinema and solutions to the problems
- Service conditions and remuneration for women in cinema
- Measures to enhance participation of women in all fields connected to cinema
- How to bring more women into the technical side of cinema by giving concessions including scholarships etc.
- How to help women into the technical side of cinema when they have toremain out of work due to delivery, child care or other health issues.
- How to ensure gender equality in the content of cinema
- How to encourage cinemas in which 30% of woman are engaged inproduction activities.
- The Commission worked from 2017 to 2019.
During this time, the commission collected testimonies of various women in cinema. The Commission submitted its report in 2019. On 19.2.2020, Justice K. Hema in a letter to the Secretary of Cultural Affairs asked to keep the report confidential as women disclosed various incidents of assault in in-camera proceedings. She added that the report was not to be parted with in a routine manner.
Many prominent women in Malayalam cinema since the report was submitted have lamented that the whole exercise was futile and no action has yet been taken on the report.
The petitioner argued that the State Information Commissioner in an earlier appeal had dismissed the request to make the report public saying that it is not possible to sever the information exempted under the Right to Information Act from the report. The petitioner argued that while ordering to make the Report public, the State Information Commission gave no reason as to why it was going against its own earlier decision.
The matter was argued by Adv. Saiby Jose Kidangoor for the petitioner and Adv M. Ajay for the State Information Commissioner.
The matter is next posted on 1st August.
Case Name: Sajimon Parayil v State of Kerala and Others
Case Number: WP(C) 26497/ 2024