Hours before its release, Kerala HC stays Hema Commission report that exposes problems faced by women in Malayalam film industry

The court’s interim stay on the findings of the commission came on the back of a petition by filmmaker Saji Parayil, who challenged the state information commission’s July 6 directive ordering that the findings be made public. The panel was set up in 2017 after a prominent woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car near Kochi.

Actor Dileep was arrested in connection with the case and is currently being tried for it.

In his petition, Parayil argued that the disclosure of such a report could affect the privacy of those who had deposed before the commission.

Set up by the LDF government, the commission saw scores of women from the industry depose before it on the condition that their names be kept confidential. The commission, which submitted its report in 2019, was believed to have recommended a tribunal to look into the allegations, although the contents of the report were never officially made public.

The issue of making the report public has been a subject of controversy in Kerala, with the state’s cultural affairs department unwilling to disclose information even under the Right to Information Act.

On July 6, the state information commission, following petitions from RTI activists and media persons, ordered that the report be made public. To protect the identities of those who deposed before it, the commission ordered that such portions should be redacted.

As a result, 70 pages of the 300-page report were removed from the version meant to be released.

In his petition, the filmmaker said that disclosing the report would violate the confidentiality promised to those who deposed and that any move to make the report public will affect the film industry.