Kerala HC dismisses Ranjini’s plea seeking copy of Hema Committee Report

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed actress Ranjini’s plea seeking a copy of the Hema Committee report. The High Court has allowed her to approach the single bench.

Earlier, the High Court had postponed the release of the report based on the plea submitted by the actress. The release of the Hema Committee report was initially scheduled for August 17. 

Ranjini highlighted that those who provided statements to the committee, like her, have not been given a copy of the report. 

Ranjini's lawyer argued in court that her statement should not be disclosed. The court then questioned whether the issue was solely about her statement or if it also pertained to the Hema Committee report. Initially, Ranjini was not a party to the petition. Sajimon Parayil had first approached the High Court to prevent the release of the report. After the Single Bench rejected his petition, Sajimon Parayil appealed to the Division Bench. Subsequently, Ranjini filed a petition as a party in the case. The Division Bench is currently considering Sajimon Parayil's plea.

Previously, it was announced that the Hema Committee report would be released on August 17, with the 233-page document set to come to light, excluding parts that were deemed confidential. However, just before this release, actress Ranjini approached the High Court, and the division bench granted her the right to file an appeal, despite her not having approached the court earlier.

The Justice Hema Committee report dates back to an incident of assault on an actor, which led the state government to form a three-member committee in July 2017. The committee consisted of former High Court Judge K Hema, yesteryear actor Sarada and Rt IAS officer K B Vatsalakumari. A petition given by Women in Cinema Collective, a union of women in the Malayalam film industry, also catered to the formation of the committee. 

The state government asked the committee to submit its study report within six months. The committee submitted its report to the government in December 2019. Even after five years, there has been no discussion or action taken on the report. Moreover, the WCC members demanded the release of the report, but the government refused.