Kerala Opposition Leader VD Satheesan joins Mahila Congress’ Sathyagraham in demanding action on Hema Commission report in Kochi on August 23, 2024. | Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday (August 23, 2024) raised the demand for a police inquiry into the findings of the Justice K. Hema commission, which documented sexual exploitation, workplace harassment and gender pay gap in the Malayalam film industry.

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan wrote an open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reiterating the Opposition’s demand for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising women IPS officers to probe the cases of sexual abuse, including of child artistes, and casting couch encounters. These cases have been documented in meticulous detail by the actors and technicians who testified before the Hema Commission.

Mr Satheesan said the committee had recorded in detail harrowing accounts of sexual exploitation and insidious sexual harassment allegedly suffered by the “victims” on production sets. He said those who testified had braved severe personal and professional adversity to expose the deep-rooted criminality in the industry.

He said their statements revealed cognizable criminal offences, including violations of the POCSO Act, and the public was demanding a zero-tolerance policy against crimes.

Mr Satheesan said the government had “betrayed” public trust by failing to act on the report for five years. The government had challenged the rule of law by allowing the perpetrators named in the report to operate freely in the industry for years.

‘Not acting is in itself a crime’

He said that concealing or failing to act on a sexual offense against a minor was itself a crime. The law gives the state the power to register a case if and when a recognizable offense is revealed. However, the government dodged responsibility by keeping the report secret and blocking prosecution. “The government’s inaction is itself a crime,” he said.

Mr. Satheesan said the government had submitted incriminating digital evidence by aggrieved women who testified before the commission. He accused the government of violating its oath of office by not acting on the evidence and statements submitted by the victims.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders and former home ministers Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the “revelation” that the government had gone beyond its mandate and withheld dozens of pages of the report from RTI applicants despite directions from the State Information Commission (SIC) was worrying. They said the allegation, if true, amounted to a cover-up.

AK Balan criticizes opposition

Former Culture Minister AK Balan accused the opposition of politicizing the issue, saying the Supreme Court had ruled that statements before an inquiry commission were not grounds for prosecution.

He pointed out that the Hema committee was not a judicial committee under the Commission of Enquiries Act. Its report was non-binding. The government required a complaint from those testifying before the committee to register a case. It could not take suo motu action. He said the government was waiting for the decision of the Kerala High Court to take further action.