PIL seeks CBI inquiry into Hema Judicial Committee report in Kerala High Court

The Justice K Hema Committee was set up by the Government of Kerala in 2017 following a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective to investigate the issues faced by women in the film industry.

Although the report was submitted to the state government in 2019, it was only earlier this year that the State Information Commission granted a request from certain parties, mainly journalists, to access the report after personal information was redacted to protect the privacy of the witnesses.

The redacted report was released on August 19 after two unsuccessful legal challenges to its publication.

Since then, several actresses and other members of the film industry have made serious allegations of sexual harassment and assault by prominent actors, producers and directors.

Actors Siddique, Mukesh and Manianpilla Raju and director VK Prakash have sought interim bail in the cases pending against them.