Actress moves Supreme Court challenging SIT probe in Hema Committee case

An actress, who earlier came out against the SIT probe after deposing before the Hema Committee, has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Kerala High Court order to register a case and conduct an investigation based on the statements she gave to the Committee. The actress filed a petition in the apex court informing that she was not interested in pursuing the case and that she had deposed before the Hema panel purely out of academic interests. 

Petition for immediate stay of proceedings

The actress sought an immediate stay on the actions taken by the SIT, claiming that she had informed the investigators that she was not interested in proceeding with the case. However, she added, the police have been summoning individuals not even directly connected to her statement for questioning.

In her petition, she emphasised that her statement to the Hema Committee was made solely to aid the government in preparing a report, not for a criminal investigation. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by lawyer Abid Ali Beeran, who is also representing a makeup artist from the film industry in a similar case against the High Court verdict.

State government's affidavit

The state government had earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court asserting that even if the victims do not wish to pursue the case, the accused cannot be left unpunished. The government informed the apex court that investigations are ongoing in 18 cases based on the statements received by the Hema Committee, and the names of the accused in eight additional cases have already been included in the FIR. The SIT decided to investigate 40 incidents based on the statements provided to the Hema Committee.