The investigation into four cases was cancelled due to a lack of evidence, govt told HC.

The investigation into four cases was cancelled due to a lack of evidence, govt told HC.

The investigation into four cases was cancelled due to a lack of evidence, govt told HC.

Kochi: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has registered 32 cases based on the complaints recorded in the Justice Hema Committee report. Of these, 11 cases were lodged concerning atrocities faced by the same woman. The Kerala government informed the High Court on Wednesday that the SIT has already identified the accused in these complaints and initiated further action, including filing chargesheets in each case. The accused who obtained anticipatory bail were summoned for interrogation and subsequently released, the government told the court.

The investigation into four cases was cancelled due to a lack of evidence, and the SIT has sought the DGP’s permission to register FIRs in four other cases, the government briefed. Meanwhile, the counsel for the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) drew the court’s attention to lapses in the SIT’s efforts to contact all individuals who appeared before the Justice Hema Committee. In response, the government assured the court that the SIT would reach out to everyone who recorded a statement before the committee.

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The matter was brought before the court during the hearing of various petitions related to the Hema Committee report.

Additionally, the government informed the court that it had appointed G. Poonguzhali, IPS, AIG Coastal Security, as the nodal officer and primary contact person for survivors seeking protection from threats and intimidation.

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A special division bench, comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha, will consider the petitions related to the Hema Committee report again on December 19.