Justice Hema Committee report; secrets may come out on 25th

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The report submitted by the Justice Hema Committee to the government on the problems faced by women in the film industry is likely to be released on the 25th. Minister Saji Cherian will hold a discussion with the Secretary of the Culture Department today regarding the implementation of the State Right to Information Commission's order to release the report.

Legal advice is that there will be a setback if the court is approached against the order of the Right to Information Commission. Right to Information Commissioner A Abdul Hakeem has specified in the order that the fee should be collected from the applicants by July 23, information should be provided by July 25 and the action report of the cultural department should be submitted to the commission on July 26. The Secretary of the Culture Department should ensure that the order is fully implemented. State Public Information Officer and Appellate Authority shall appear before the Commission on July 27 if the information is not provided. The government will be trying to avoid this.

The Hema Committee, which recorded the statements and witness statements of about 60 women related to the film industry, submitted its report to the Chief Minister on December 31, 2019. The government was not ready to disclose its findings and take remedial measures. Internal Grievance Redressal Committee came into existence at the cinema locations after the WCC obtained a favourable order from the High Court. Although the Culture Department decided to appoint a committee headed by the Film Academy Secretary to study the report, the report was not made available to the Academy. The formation of the committee also did not take place. The reason was the fear that the report of the committee would be leaked.

"There is no point in releasing the Hema committee report by hiding the core issues. The issues were brought before the committee not just to be written down on paper. It should be clarified whether so many crores were spent to protect the victim or to protect the accused'' Bhagyalakshmi, actress, dubbing artist