Kerala High Court orders release of report on gender inequality in Malayalam film industry
Film producer Sajimon Parayil had challenged the disclosure of the 2019 Justice Hema committee report.
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The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the release of the Justice Hema committee report on sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, reported Bar and Bench.
A bench of Justice VG Arun directed that the report be published within a week.
The report was submitted to the state government more than four years ago.
On July 24, the High Court stayed its release, hours before it was to be made public. The order came on a petition filed by filmmaker Sajimon Parayil, who challenged the Kerala State Information Commission’s July 6 directive ordering the findings of the committee to be made public.
On Tuesday, the court rejected Parayil’s petition.
The three-member committee, comprising Justice Hema, veteran actor Sharada and former bureaucrat KB Valsalakumari, was formed in 2017, weeks after the Women In Cinema Collective met with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The collective had demanded an investigation into the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. This came in the aftermath of an alleged sexual assault case involving actor Dileep.
Despite getting the report in 2019, the Kerala government had declined to make it public. In January 2022, the state formed a panel to study the report and plan to implement its recommendations.
In its July 6 order, the state information...
