The High Court's intervention in the Hema Commission report seems to have forced a change in the LDF government's approach to alleged sexual predators in the Malayalam film industry.
Till now, as articulated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the position was that action could be taken only if the women came forward with a complaint, and not on the basis of the testimonies given before the Commission by the women in the industry. This had put the onus on the victims, some of whom had told the Hema Commission that going ahead with their complaints could have put even their lives, forget jobs, in danger.
The Chief Minister then used a letter by Justice Hema that sought absolute confidentiality for the victims to keep the names of the predators, too, hidden. However, on August 22, the High Court directed the Kerala government to produce both the published and unpublished parts of the report to it in a sealed cover.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan on Friday, August 23, responded in a manner that suggested that the High Court had lifted a major moral burden off the government. "The government has its limitations. It had to withhold certain parts because Justice Hema herself insisted that the names of victims be protected. Only the courts can intervene and remove these limitations," he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
The clear hint was that the court can now empower the state government to take action.
Govindan’s argument was that the government had its hands tied. He said the published report did not have individual instances of sexual abuse. "Cases have to be specific. The police cannot register a general complaint. That was why the government said that women will have to come forward with complaints," Govindan said.
"The court has now asked the entire material, both published an unpublished, to be placed before it. The case will come up before the court in four to five days. We will wait till then. Whatever the court says, the government will do. The government will adopt the right approach once the verdict is out and this will be absolutely in favour of the women. Not a single offender, however high he might be, will be let off the hook," he said.
Interestingly, even Association of Malayalam Movie Artists general secretary Siddique, who feigned ignorance of most of the violations pointed out in the report during a press conference on August 23, said that the police should register cases on the basis of the testimonies given to the Commission by the women in the film industry. He also said that anyone found guilty would not be protected by the A.M.M.A.
