A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday orally observed that the committee constituted by the State government to formulate its cinema policy and organising committee of the proposed cinema conclave should be headed by a person who inspires confidence in women in the industry.
The Special Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice C.S. Sudha noted that the committee on formulation of a cinema policy and the conclave were mooted following the recommendations of the Hema Committee. “When you are having a conclave, and specifically to address an issue which has now come to the fore because of the Hema Committee recommendations… it should be a committee that inspires confidence in the women citizens,” the court told the government.
These oral observations were made when the public interest litigations filed in connection with the Hema Committee report were taken up for hearing.
The court also asked the State government to furnish details of the conclave before holding it. The court said that the government should give some idea as to what the conclave would be about and when it was proposed to be held.
Government’s view
The government submitted that all inputs gathered from different organisations would be placed before the conclave and some more persons would be invited to consider them. In fact, the government had collected inputs from almost 140 organisations on the new legislation to protect women in the entertainment industry.
It was submitted by a petitioner before the court that the conclave was going to be headed by a person accused of being ‘extremely gender-bullying’ and corrupt. The government submitted that the committee or chairperson would not decide on the policy. The committee would only collect information and place it before the government. The policy would be formulated only by the government.
Published – February 06, 2025 05:43 pm IST