Hema committee report: SIT takes over probe under Kerala HC’s supervision

With the special bench of the Kerala High Court now hearing the controversial Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry, the special investigation team (SIT) has now been given the full charge to probe the case.

As the first step, the uncensored report, which contains explosive parts that were earlier censored when it was released on 19 August, will be read by the SIT.

The SIT of the Kerala Police will take statements from the actresses who spoke before the Hema Committee, and cases will be registered against the violators if those who testified stick to their revelations.

Incidentally, the present 11 FIRs that the SIT have registered against the stars of the Malayalam film industry pertain to revelations made by actresses after the Hema committee report was released.

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 10 September came down heavily on the Vijayan government for its inaction on the report. Hence, pressure is mounting on the government as the Congress and the BJP are also aggressively taking the issue.

The SIT will have to submit its first report later this month to the division bench as the court has posted the case for October.

The court also has directed that the SIT should not be pressured to act in haste that there should be no media trial in the matter and that the SIT should refrain from revealing details to the press.

The Justice Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government in 2017 and the report was submitted to the state government in 2019.

It was after a long-drawn legal battle that the report was finally released on August 19, leading to several former actresses opening up with allegations of sexual harassment by several prominent industry figures.

Based on the complaints, the Kerala Police have so far registered FIRs against 11 people, including 10 from the film industry.

Those who are in the dock include actor-turned-CPI(M) legislator Mukesh Madhavan, Nivin Pauly, Siddique, Jayasurya, Idavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju, directors Ranjith and Prakash, and production executives Vichu and Noble. Mukesh, Ranjith, and Raju have, by now, secured relief from the court.