Kerala HC to constitute special bench to hear matters related to Hema Committee report

The Kerala High Court on Thursday, 5 September said it will constitute a five-judge special bench to hear cases related to the Justice Hema Committee report.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu made this oral observation while hearing a plea challenging a single judge's decision allowing release of the committee's report.

The special bench would also comprise women judges, the High Court said in its oral observation, a lawyer associated with the petition said.

The single judge on 13 August had allowed release of the report by dismissing a plea challenging the State Information Commission's order permitting the panel's findings and recommendations to be made public.

The single judge order came while rejecting the plea by Sajimon Parayil, a film producer, who had challenged the Information Commission's July 5 order directing the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to reasonably disseminate the information in the report while ensuring that it does not compromise the privacy of individuals.

Parayil filed an appeal against the single judge's order before a division bench headed by the Acting Chief Justice which on Thursday decided to constitute a special bench for hearing matters related to the panel's report.

The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors in the wake of the report being made public, the state government on 25 August announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.