New Delhi: The National Commission for Women on Friday directed Kerala Chief Secretary (CS) Sarada Muraleedharan to submit the complete version of the recently released Hema Committee report in a week. The action followed a complaint of BJP leaders P R Shivashankar and Sandeep Vaachaspathi, submitted directly at the Delhi NCW office on Thursday. However, CPI's Annie Raja stated that the effort meant to tarnish the left government of Kerala.
Earlier, the Kerala High Court also directed the state government to submit the full report in a sealed envelope. Only the abridged version of the report, comprising 233 pages, was released to the public on August 19, excluding portions that could infringe on the privacy of the individuals mentioned in it, as directed by the State Information Commission (SIC). This also led to allegations that the government had excluded more information than recommended by the SIT to protect certain individuals' interests.
At least 10 cases were registered in various police stations in Kerala following the report release, with several women from the Malayalam film industry levelled sexual assault allegations against their male colleagues, mostly high-profiles.
The Justice Hema Committee was established by the Kerala government in 2017 in response to a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to investigate the challenges faced by women in the Malayalam film industry following the 2017 actor assault case. Justice K Hema led the committee, which also included actor Sharada and former IAS officer K B Vatsala Kumari. The committee submitted its report to the government on December 31, 2019.