'Can't injunct police to act in accordance with law': Supreme Court on probe into exploitation in Malayalam film industry

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said under criminal jurisprudence, once information is received or otherwise and an officer-in-charge of a police station has reason to suspect that a cognisable offence has been committed, he is duty bound to proceed in accordance to law as prescribed under Section 176 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta refused to entertain a plea against the Kerala High Court's order, which directed the Special Investigation Team to lodge FIRs and examine allegations of exploitation of women artists in Malayalam film industry.

The petitioners film producer Sajimon Parayil and an actress and another witness claimed the SIT was registering the FIRs without substantial evidence and only on the basis of Justice Hema Committee report of 2019 and coercing women artists and others to record statements.

The court, however, said, "There can be no direction to injunct or restrain the police officer from proceeding in accordance to law."  

It pointed out the High Court's division bench has only directed the SIT to act in accordance with law in the order on October 14, 2024. 

The petitioners contended the SIT has, in great haste, registered all the FIRs and PE’s after October 23, 2024 when this court issued notice in the matter, in "completely mala fide exercise on the part of the respondent State in an attempt to overreach the consideration by this court".

The bench, however, said, "We leave it open for the affected persons who had deposed before the Hema Committee and are being compelled by the SIT to depose before it to approach the High Court for redressal of their grievances."

The court said, the High Court would consider the specific grievances of harassment and will also examine as to whether the FIRs registered are based upon material collected during the investigation by the SIT or they are being registered without any supporting material.

"The High Court will also look into the grievances of those individuals who had deposed before the Hema Committee that they are not unnecessarily harassed or coerced or compelled to depose before the SIT," the court said in its judgment of February 7, released on Monday.

The Kerala government in 2017 set up a committee comprising of a retired Judge of the High Court, Justice K Hema (Chairperson), actor T Sharda and a retired bureaucrat, Ms Basala Kumari as members to study the issues of the working conditions, welfare and the hardship being faced by the women in the Malayalam Cinema Industry.

The committee submitted its report on December 31, 2019.

Acting on a plea to produce the report, the High Court's division bench on September 10, 2024 approved the SIT constituted by the Director General of Police comprising of seven members headed by Inspector General and the Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram City and further supervised by the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch.