Govt did not sit on Hema Committee report, gave it utmost importance: CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday refuted the allegations that his government sat on the Justice Hema Committee report for over four years and said it has given utmost importance to the implementation of the recommendations by the panel.
He said the police have always taken action whenever complaints in connection with the film industry are received and assured that the unconditional support of the government was with the victims.
Vijayan also assured that the state government will take appropriate action against the "predators" in the film industry.
"Any person who has committed a crime will be brought before the law no matter how high they are. No one should have any doubt about it," he emphasised.
Vijayan's remarks came at a press conference here in response to allegations against the Left government by the opposition parties for its silence and inaction over the past four years, despite receiving the report.
The CM was also responding to reporters' queries on why the findings of the committee were not disclosed till now and why no police action was taken based on the panel's report which has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry and alleged that a "criminal gang" was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out.
Vijayan said the government was never opposed to the release of the report.
He said that the committee was formed in 2017, the first of its kind in the country, to study the issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality faced by women in the Malayalam film industry following the actress assault case of the same year involving actor Dileep and the panel's report was received in December 2019.
However, in February 2020, Justice Hema herself requested in writing that the report not be made public as it contains references affecting the privacy of many people, he added.
As a result, the public information officer of the Culture Department rejected the requests, under the Right to Information Act, for a copy of the report, saying that it would violate the privacy of many individuals.
After several individuals moved the State Information Commission seeking a copy of the report, the commission in July this year directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to disclose the findings after redacting certain portions which may affect the privacy of individuals, the CM said.
"But, a producer opposed the release of the report by approaching the Kerala High Court, which initially stayed the publication of the findings. Later it dismissed the plea and allowed the report to be made public. Then, an actress moved the High Court seeking to put the release on hold.
"The report came out yesterday only after all the legal hurdles were removed."
Regarding the allegations of inaction by the government, the CM said that his administration has done all it can and will continue to do so.
"All kinds of illegal and anti-women tendencies in the film industry will be strongly tackled," he said.
He further said that the committee never recommended that the matters discussed in the report should be investigated by registering cases.
However, no matter raised in the film industry, including the incident where an actress was attacked in her vehicle in 2017, has gone without legal action. The police have registered cases and investigated the complaints filed by the actresses on harassment allegations.
The CM further said that if any of the women who gave statements to the committee come forward to lodge a complaint, there will be appropriate intervention from the government.
He affirmed that the government has given utmost importance to implementing the recommendations of the committee and it has already identified issues that needed to be considered urgently and resolved, and the suggestions which require detailed deliberations before being implemented.
Vijayan said the government has ensured the formation of an internal compliance committee in the film industry with utmost urgency as it was a major need of the women working there.
The government has also taken steps to implement recommendations like encouraging films with women as directors and technicians, setting up a judicial tribunal to resolve disputes and prevent exploitation in the field of cinema and bringing about a comprehensive cinema policy.
Other recommendations like curbing use of alcohol and drugs as well as sexual violence can be addressed by the law enforcement agencies which are carrying out necessary interventions, the CM said.
"All these and other issues in the film industry will be discussed in the conclave we plan to hold soon."
Vijayan said that Malayalam cinema cannot move forward if it does not ensure decent behavior and a better working environment and therefore, organisations in the industry should take the initiative to question the undesirable trends within the film sector and ensure decent wages for the work undertaken.
Talented actors should not be isolated or denied opportunities as part of lobbying. Cinema should not be ruled by groups or caucuses.
"Exploitation in the film, whether it is sexual exploitation, financial or psychological exploitation, the government is not with the exploiters, but with the exploited," he added.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
