Justice Hema report ignites controversy: Demand for investigative action in malayalam cinema grows | Kochi News
KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The call for a special investigation team is gaining momentum in response to allegations of exploitation and rights violation of women in Malayalam film industry as revealed in the Justice K Hema Committee report.
Besides opposition parties, many in the legal fraternity have criticised the state govt for sitting on the committee report for nearly five years.
“The state govt should take steps to constitute a special team to investigate these allegations, including sexual harassment in cinema industry,” former director general of prosecution T A Asaf Ali said.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan, meanwhile, said the govt would take appropriate legal action if any woman who testified before the committee filed a complaint. He refuted allegations that the govt had kept the committee report in cold storage.
‘Involving an agency like CBI would be appropriate’
Former DGP Asaf Ali said involving a national agency like CBI would be more appropriate as certain allegations revealed in the Justice Hema Committee report had inter-state ramifications.
As per Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), any information related to the commission of a cognizable offence, regardless of where the offence is committed, can be investigated by police.
Claiming that the govt had not sat on the committee report, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said Justice Hema herself had written to the govt back in 2020, requesting that the report should not be released as it contained references affecting the privacy of many individuals. He also said the information commission had earlier ruled that it was impractical to release the report while ensuring confidentiality.
“The govt has consistently stated that it has no objection to releasing the report,” he said.
The Justice Hema Committee report had primarily documented incidents of sexual harassment on cinema sets and ‘casting couch’ during auditions.
Upon receiving this information, police are obligated to investigate the allegations using the victims’ statements recorded by the committee. The state and police are responsible for a thorough investigation of such claims.
The committee had gathered various forms of evidence, including audio and video recordings, WhatsApp message screenshots and chat logs. An investigation team can review this material to support its probe.
The Allegations: The committee report highlighted several allegations, including sexual demands made to women for entry into cinema industry and sexual harassment at workplaces, during transportation and accommodation.
It also mentioned torture of women, violation of human rights by denying basic facilities, making demeaning and vulgar comments and cyber-attacks.
Police can address these issues by taking cognizance of these allegations. Furthermore, the report demanded that the state should address issues like gender-based pay disparity and non-execution of contracts.
What The Law Says: As per Section 173 of BNSS, upon receipt of information related to the commission of any cognizable offence punishable by imprisonment for three years or more but less than seven years, the officer-in-charge of the police station may, with prior permission from an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police and considering the nature and gravity of the offence, either proceed to conduct a preliminary inquiry within 14 days to ascertain whether a prima facie case exists or proceed with the investigation if a prima facie case is established.
Similarly, the allegations outlined in the report could constitute the offence of assault or criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, under Section 354 of the IPC (Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).
As per this section, anyone who assaults or uses criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty shall be punished with imprisonment for up to five years and may also be liable to a fine.
