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51 industry professionals’ testimonies served as the basis for the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry.
In light of the Justice Hema Committee’s report on the appalling treatment of women in the Malayalam film industry, the Kerala government notified the High Court on Monday that 26 formal complaints had been filed.
The report was taken into consideration by the court, which then established a special investigation team (SIT). In accordance with Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the SIT has now filed 26 FIRs.
The state government also told the court that the SIT is looking into four additional cases and conducting ten preliminary enquiries.
It added that a report of the progress of the investigation can also be submitted before the Court.
Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha are also members of the Special Bench that was established to review the comprehensive report.
At its last hearing, the court spoke tough and pointed out that the report mentions cognizable offences and hence the SIT should act appropriately.
Following an oral hearing with the state government’s attorney, the court noted, “At this time, 26 FIRs have been filed; in eight of these, the names of the accused are stated explicitly, while in 18 of them, they are not. Is this a component of the initial 40 complaints?
51 industry professionals’ testimonies served as the basis for the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. The existence of casting couches and subpar working conditions are among the startling details about the exploitation of women that are revealed in the report.
A few former actresses came forward with their negative experiences after the report was made public in August, and police acted quickly, filing 11 formal complaints against different movie stars.
Aside from Siddique, the current defendants include director Ranjith and Prakash, production executives Vichu and Noble, actor-turned-CPI-M lawmaker Mukesh Madhavan, Nivin Pauly, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, and Maniyanpilla Raju. While Siddique was the first actor to apply for anticipatory bail but not receive it from any Keralan court, the apex court granted him pre-arrest bail. Mukesh, Ranjith, Raju, Prakash, and Jayasurya have already received relief from their arrests from the courts.