Nodal officer can accept film industry complaints unrelated to Hema Committee Report: Kerala High Court

The nodal officer appointed to consider complaints related to the Justice K Hema Committee Report can also accept complaints regarding issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry that may not be related to the report, the Kerala High Court held on Thursday [Women in Cinema Collective v State of Kerala & ors].A bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha passed the order in response to a request made by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Women in Cinema Collective (WCC).The Court extended the jurisdiction of the nodal officer to include individuals from the film industry who were not part of the Hema Committee study. "We see no objection to expanding the jurisdiction for the above purposes and accordingly direct that the nodal officer who's details are furnished below shall on receipt of any complaints from the persons of the film industry, forward the same to SIT. Keeping the confidentiality of the persons approaching the nodal officer, the complaints shall be forwarded to SIT for investigation and the nodal officer shall file a report on every future date," the Court said. .The Court passed the order while considering several cases related to the Hema Committee report.The report was released earlier this year after many rounds of litigation. It revealed widespread gender bias and sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry prompting backlash against many prominent actors, directors, and other key players in the industry. Over the last few months, the High Court has been considering the implementation of guidelines to safeguard workplace rights, safety and gender equality in the industry, while ensuring safety and confidentiality for victims and witnesses of harassment.The Court had earlier directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating sexual harassment complaints related to the report to appoint a nodal officer whom witnesses of complainants can contact with ease. .Today, apart from extending the jurisdiction of the nodal officer, the Court also addressed concerns raised by parties regarding the January 31 deadline for approaching the nodal officer or the SIT with complaints. The Court said that it will consider extending the deadline if the situation calls for it. "The window is open only for the purposes of coming forward with complaints of harassment, so that you don’t sit upon it. If we find that other people are coming on January 31, maybe we will consider," Justice Nambiar said. The Court also emphasised that complainants are at liberty to approach the police even after the deadline. "The only advantage you will get here in this window is that your confidentiality will be protected, whereas if you go to a normal SHO, your name will not be confidential," the bench orally explained. .The Court also made it clear that those facing retaliation from film industry associations for filing complaints can approach the Court directly."These matters can be brought to the Court's notice. If any person receives a notice of removal, they can approach the court directly."Interestingly, one of the parties who had initially opposed the release of the Report, actress Ranjini, approached the Court today seeking to be impleaded in the matters. Ranjini's counsel also informed the Court that the SIT had not contacted her even though she was a witness.The Court impleaded her in the matter and said that she can approach the SIT directly."Your identity was not known to the SIT because it was not only protected by the Hema Committee but also by the Court. Now that you want to cooperate with the investigation, you can directly go to the SIT," Justice Sudha said.