The Kerala High Court announced on Thursday that it will establish a five-judge special bench to address cases linked to the Justice Hema Committee report. The decision was made by a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu while hearing an appeal against a single judge's ruling that permitted the report's release. The court also mentioned that the special bench would include women judges.
On August 13, a single judge had dismissed a plea challenging the State Information Commission's decision to allow the findings and recommendations of the Hema Committee report to be made public. The plea was filed by Sajimon Parayil, a film producer, who contested the Information Commission's July 5 order. The commission had directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to release the report, while ensuring that the privacy of individuals involved was protected.
In response, Parayil appealed the ruling before a division bench led by the Acting Chief Justice. The High Court has now decided to constitute a special bench to hear all related matters.
The Justice Hema Committee was formed by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case, and its report revealed widespread harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry. In light of the report's findings, the Kerala government announced on August 25 the formation of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations of sexual harassment against several actors and directors.
