Hema Committee report: Kerala HC dismisses actor’s appeal against single judge order permitting to make report public

Kerala High Court dismisses actor's appeal to redact sensitive portions of Justice K. Hema Committee's report.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday (August 19, 2024) dismissed an appeal filed by actor Ranjini, aka Sasha Selvaraj, challenging a single judge’s order upholding the State Information Commission (SIC) order to make public Justice K. Hema Committee’s report on working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry with limited redactions.

The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaq and Justice S. Manu asked the actor to approach a single judge by filing a writ petition challenging the action of the SIC.

Justice V.G. Arun had upheld SIC’s order while dismissing a writ petition filed by film producer Sajimon Parayil.

Ms. Ranjini contended that her right to privacy may be violated as the redaction of sensitive portions of the report was being done by the Information Officer concerned at his/her own discretion. She pointed out that she is not against the publishing of the report as such but is only concerned with the order that leaves it to the discretion of the Information Officer alone to decide the privacy of individuals who had deposed before the committee.

She also argued that those given their statements do not know which portions would be redacted. She was under the legitimate expectation that she is legally entitled to privacy on the assurance of confidentiality that the report will never violate her privacy. The State Information Commissioner should not have ordered the publication of the report without hearing the affected parties including her.

She also pointed out that when the Right to Information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution came in conflict with the Right to Privacy under Article 21, the latter should take precedence over former.

The committee, headed by former Kerala High Court Judge K. Hema, was constituted in the wake of the sexual assault of an actor in 2017. The committee submitted its report to the Kerala government on December 31, 2019. However, it has not been made public on the grounds that it contains sensitive information.