Kerala govt didn't prevent release of Justice Hema Committee report: Minister Saji Cherian

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government did not prevent the release of Justice K Hema Committee report, which studied issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, state Culture Minister Saji Cherian said on Saturday.

Cherian said that the State Information Commission and the Kerala High Court directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to release the report after redacting certain portions of it.

"The SPIO has been authorised to release the report. The officer will do so within the stipulated time. Is the time over? If it is not done within the time given, it can be questioned in the High Court," the minister said in response to queries as to why the report was not released on Saturday.

The minister made it clear that neither the state government nor its Culture department nor the film industry have any role with regard to releasing the committee's findings.

"The government is not against release of the findings," he added.

His reaction comes in the wake of news reports that the release of the committee's findings have been delayed again as the government was waiting for the outcome of an actress' plea against its publication.

Renjini, who had given statements to the committee, has moved the High Court reportedly raising concerns about the content of the report.

Earlier, the publication of the report, which was to be released on July 24, was put on hold by the Kerala High Court on a plea moved by a Malayalam film producer.

Subsequently, the HC dismissed the plea on August 13 and directed the government to make the report public within a week from then.

Cherian said that neither the government nor the Culture Department said the committee's report would be released on Saturday.

"If the SPIO said that the report will be released today at 11 am and the officer did not do so, you ask them. The government has no role in it," he told the reporters.

The minister also asked the reporters why they were getting "agitated" when the time given by the High Court is not over yet.

Earlier in the day, Kerala Women's Commission chairperson P Sathidevi said the government probably decided to wait before releasing the report in view of the actress' plea which is expected to be heard by the HC on Monday.

"There are no hurdles in the publication of the report." She further said that the women's commission, right from the start, has been in favour of making the report public.

The State Information Commission had on July 5 directed 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.

The panel was formed after the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep, to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.

Even though the report was filed in 2019, the government is yet to release the details as it is suspected to contain sensitive information.

The actress-victim who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films was allegedly abducted and molested in her car for two hours by some of the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.

The entire act was filmed by some of the accused to blackmail the actress.

There are 10 accused in the case. Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, was also arrested and sent to jail. He was released after the court granted him bail. The case is pending.