Hema Committee report: Kerala High Court expands mandate of nodal officer

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday approved a suggestion to expand the mandate of the nodal officer appointed to handle cases related to the revelations in the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed widespread sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry.

A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha accepted the suggestion by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who proposed that the nodal officer's mandate be widened to include grievances from individuals in the film industry who had not approached the committee.

"We see no reason as to why the said suggestion of the senior counsel should not be accepted," the bench observed.

The court directed that the nodal officer, upon receiving any complaint of exploitation, harassment, or abuse from individuals in the film industry, must promptly forward it to the special investigation team (SIT) for investigation while ensuring the privacy of the complainant is protected.

The bench further directed the SIT to file periodic reports before the court on every posting date, detailing the actions taken on the complaints it received.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking action based on the findings of the Hema Committee report.

On December 7, the Kerala government appointed G Poonguzhali IPS as the nodal officer to serve as the primary contact for victims in cases related to the report.

The officer was also tasked with addressing requests for protection against threats and intimidation.

The Justice Hema Committee was established by the Kerala government following the 2017 actress assault case.

The full report was submitted to the Kerala High Court, which directed that it be handed over to the SIT for investigating complaints of sexual abuse in the film industry.