40 FIRs so far after Hema Committee Report: State tells Kerala High Court

The Kerala government today told the Kerala High Court that 40 criminal cases have been registered so far following the public release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which had hinted at widespread sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry [Navas A @ Paichira Navas v State Kerala and connected cases]..A Special Bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and CS Sudha was informed of the development while hearing a batch of cases related to the Hema Committee Report. The report's public release in August last year led to a wave of allegations of sexual harassment, rape, criminal intimidation and related offences against actors, directors and others in Mollywood. .Today, the Court was given a note prepared by Advocate General of Kerala (AG) Gopalakrishna Kurup with updates on ongoing investigations into complaints filed before a Special Investigation Team (SIT) tasked with probing these cases. The AG informed that a total of 35 cases have already been registered by the SIT and that 8 additional complaints were recently submitted before the Nodal Officer appointed by the Court to collate complaints and witness statements. Of these, 5 have been registered as FIRs, bringing the total number of FIRs to 40. .The Court today also briefly discussed the draft of a law suggested to ensure fair working spaces in the film industry.The draft law, dubbed "The Kerala Entertainment Industry (Equality and Empowerment) Act" intends to ensure equality across all facets of the entertainment industry, dealing with hiring practices, wages, working conditions, and access to opportunities, the Court was told.This draft found a mention in a report submitted by Amicus Curiae Mitha Sudhindran, which outlines perspectives and suggestions of various stakeholders on reforms to workspaces in the entertainment industry.The AG today said that the State will examine the draft and submit its response to the Court.The Court too said that it would go through the draft, and re-emphasised that an intersectional approach must adopted to address the multi-layered discrimination faced by women, especially those from marginalised communities."Let us go through the proposed draft, we want to see whether in the legislation the aspects with regard to the feminist viewpoint, more importantly the intersectionists' viewpoint have been incorporated," the Court said.It added that although existing laws have tackled certain kinds of discrimination to some extent, the intersectional viewpoint is often left unaddressed."There is still a big gap ... A Dalit woman faces discrimination at multiple levels, not just because she is a woman, but also due to her social status," the Court explained.It added that the final shape of the workplace safety law for the film industry would be left the to State. The Court is only making suggestions, the Bench clarified."What we give to the State is only a recommendation and it's you (State) who have to make the policy," Justice Nambiar said..The amicus' report has further proposed establishing a Kerala Entertainment Industry Regulatory Authority (KEIRA) for comprehensive oversight, transparency, and accountability, and centralising bodies such as the Chalachithra Academy, the Kerala State Film Development Corporation and cinema collectives.It suggested the formation of a tribunal as well to deal with disputes arising in workplaces in the film industry, which could be called the Kerala Entertainment Industry Tribunal (KEIT). This tribunal could be tasked with dispute resolution, helping spread legal awareness, and tackling sexual harassment, it has been suggested. .The Court today also allowed the impleadment of the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) to the matter. The impleadment plea was opposed by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). Representing the WCC, Senior Counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan, said,"The impleadment seems to suggest that this Court is effectively legislating. That's why they want to come in and oppose the petition. If that's the sole reason for impleadment, I don't think this needs to be entertained."."That's only their apprehension, we can take care of (that), the impleadment should not be a problem," the Court replied while allowing the KFCC's impleadment. The matter will be heard next on February 6, 2024..[Read Live Coverage]