The Kerala High Court has established a special division bench to address public interest litigation concerning the Justice Hema Committee report and related matters. Initially, there was speculation about a five-judge bench, but the High Court later confirmed that Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque had ordered the formation of the special bench on August 29, reports Bar and Bench.
The bench, consisting of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and C.S. Sudha, will handle cases related to the committee’s findings.
The Justice Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government following the 2017 actress assault case. It was formed following a petition by the ‘Women in Cinema Collective’ to study issues faced by women in the Malayalam industry.
The report, released on August 19 after redacting all personal information, revealed instances of harassment and exploitation within the Malayalam film industry.
In response to the report’s revelations and subsequent allegations of sexual harassment against various actors and directors, the Kerala government announced the formation of a seven-member special investigation team on August 25 to investigate these claims.