Kerala-based lawyer and activist Harish Vasudevan on Tuesday, August 20, slammed the state government for not taking legal action against those involved in sexual crimes alleged in the Justice Hema Committee report. The redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report, which looked into the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, was released on August 19.
The report was submitted to the state government in December 2019, but was not released due to multiple reasons. The report has pointed out various issues ranging from sexual abuse and lack of grievance redressal systems to the unavailability of toilet facilities for women in film sets.
Questioning why the report was not released for close to five years, Harish asked if the guidelines issued by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari versus Govt of UP and others case were not applicable in the current case. The Lalita Kumari case dates back to 2013, when a minor girl was kidnapped in Uttar Pradesh and her father filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court. He alleged that even though he had submitted a complaint at the police station, no case was registered and that a first information report (FIR) was filed only after the case reached the Superintendent of Police.
The Supreme Court then proceeded to frame a set of eight guidelines to be followed by the police when they come to know of a cognisable offence. A cognisable offence is any offence, like murder, rape, kidnap, etc, for which the police can make an arrest without a warrant.
One of the main guidelines issued by the top court in the case is that the police must register an FIR if they receive any information pertaining to a cognizable offence. The court clearly lays down that “no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation.” However, if the offence is a non-cognizable one, a preliminary inquiry may be conducted.
Pointing to this guideline, advocate Harish asked why the state Minister for Culture Affairs Saji Cherian did not initiate a police investigation into the matter.
The Hema Committee report talks widely about the prevalent sexual harassment and abuse in the industry, including how aspiring women are sexually exploited after being told that other successful female actors managed to sustain themselves within the industry only because they agreed to sleep with male colleagues. Further, the report refers to another survivor as a “girl,” unlike in other instances where it uses the term “woman,” which could likely be a hint that she is a minor.
“There are various crimes mentioned in the Hema commission report. Has the minister told the police to file a case till date? Isn't the verdict of the Lalithakumari case applicable? Do we have to wait for an auspicious moment?” Harish said, questioning if and when an FIR would be filed. He also asked why the Minister did not push for the release of the report, which was received by the government in 2019.
On similar lines, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan asked “whom the government was protecting by not releasing the report.” Stating that it was the responsibility of the government to take action against those who have sexually exploited women, Satheesan urged that the government should take immediate action regarding the findings of the report.
