Kerala High Court stays release of report on gender inequality in Malayalam film industry
The state information commission’s directive ordering the findings to be made public violated the right to privacy, argued. filmmaker Sajimon Parayil.
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The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed the release of the Justice K Hema Committee Report on sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, Bar and Bench reported.
The stay came hours before the report was to be released to the public.
Justice PM Manoj issued the interim stay while hearing 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.
Parayil’s plea stated that the state information commission’s order, if implemented, “would adversely affect the film industry at large, compromising individuals privacy, breaching confidentiality and potentially damaging reputations and livelihoods of persons with the industry including the ones who came forward with their viewpoints and testimonials”, Bar and Bench reported.
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 Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The collective had demanded a probe 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.
The Hema committee submitted its report to the Kerala government in December 2019. However, the findings of the report were not made public.
In its July 6 order, the state information commissioner A Abdul...
