Kerala HC slams govt for inaction on Hema Committee report; terms it alarming
Kochi, Sep 10: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Left government in the state saying its inaction on the Justice Hema Committee report was "alarming."
A special division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha said the government got the report years ago and ought to have immediately responded and directed that the full report be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to take requisite action.
It also asked why the state was silent for so long.
The bench said women are more in number in Kerala and asked what the state was doing about the problems being faced by them in society.
It said the government took action only more than four years after it got the report.
It directed the government to hand over the full report of the committee to the SIT constituted to look into the complaints of sexual harassment and assaults by female actors against some of their male counterparts and others in the film industry.
The bench said the SIT can take action based on the report and the court will examine on the next date what steps have been taken by the special team.
At the same time, the court also said that the SIT should not act in haste and that the details of the victims and the accused should not be disclosed.
The court also refused to issue any gag order, but said that the media should restrain itself and directed the police not to disclose unnecessary details of the cases they are investigating.
The court also said that there should be comprehensive legislation on the issue and directed the government to file an affidavit, indicating steps taken by it, before the next date of hearing on October 3.
During the hearing, the Advocate General, appearing for the state, said that steps, including constituting an SIT, have been taken and 23 cases have been lodged based on the complaints by female actors.
The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors in the wake of the report being made public, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.
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Two children among five dead in Firozabad factory explosion, 11 hospitalised
Firozabad (UP) (PTI): Five persons, including two children and a woman, were killed due to an explosion at a firecracker godown-cum-factory in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district that caused damage to nearby houses, a police official said on Tuesday.
Eleven persons sustained injuries in the blast, which happened in the factory located in the Naushera area under Shikohabad police station limits on Monday night, they said.
Local residents also said that around one dozen houses were damaged due to the blast, and roofs of some of the houses have also been damaged.
"Five persons including two children were killed in the explosion, which had taken place in a firecracker godown-cum-factory. Eleven persons were injured in the incident," Circle Officer Shikohabad Praveen Tiwari told PTI.
According to local residents, around 10.30 pm, there was a sudden blast in the firecracker godown due to which the walls of the building collapsed and about seven people got buried under the debris.
Meera Devi (45), Aman Kushwaha (17), Gautam Kushwaha (16) and Kumari Ichha (4) and Abhinaye (2) died in the incident. The two kids are siblings, the officer said, adding that they were identified based on information obtained from the district hospital.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their kin after post-mortem, officials said.
Family members of the deceased, initially said that they will not carry out the last rites until the government gives them money to rebuild the houses.
However, the families agreed to holding the funerals after speaking to District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan and SSP Saurabh Dixit, who visited the the spot, Tiwari said.
The process of convincing the family members is underway, he said.
Shikohabad's MLA Mukesh Verma, who was also present on the spot, said that the DM spoke to the Chief Minister's Office regarding compensation. He got an assurance that Rs 4 lakhs will be given to the kin of each deceased, after which the family agreed to perform the last rites, Verma said.
The MLA also said that he has requested the DM to arrange a 100-yard plot for those whose homes have been destroyed in the blast.
The state government said that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the accident.
The chief minister has directed the district administration officials to provide proper treatment to the injured, and issued instructions to district administration officials to expedite relief work, it said.
