Actress Challenges Release of Report on Women’s Working Conditions in Film Industry
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Kerala, August 16, 2024 – Renowned actress Sasha Selvaraj, popularly known as Ranjini, has filed an appeal challenging the decision to publicly release the Justice Hima Committee report on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry. Ranjini’s legal challenge, submitted to the Kerala High Court, questions the manner in which the report was released and raises concerns about potential infringements on her right to privacy.
The Justice Hima Committee, established by the Kerala government in 2017 following a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective, was tasked with investigating issues faced by women in the film industry. The committee submitted its findings to the government in 2019. Subsequently, the State Information Commission (SIC) allowed the partial release of the report, provided that sensitive portions were redacted.
However, Ranjini, who had provided testimony to the committee under the assurance of confidentiality, argues that the redaction process was inadequately handled. Her appeal, now admitted by the Kerala High Court’s division bench of Justice Mohammed Mushtaq and Justice AS Manu, expresses concern that the report’s release might infringe on her privacy due to insufficient redaction of sensitive information.
Ranjini’s petition highlights that she had been assured of confidentiality regarding her statement and had a legitimate expectation to be notified and consulted before any part of the report containing her statements was made public. She asserts that the affected individuals, including herself, were not given adequate information about which portions of the report would be redacted prior to its publication.
The appeal argues that the State Information Commissioner should not have authorized the report’s release without first hearing from the parties affected, including Ranjini. Her legal team contends that the balance between the right to information, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, and the right to privacy, protected under Article 21, necessitates that privacy concerns take precedence, especially when the disclosure could lead to unwarranted invasions of personal privacy.
The government and SIC have contested the appeal, arguing that Ranjini was not a party to the initial petition challenging the SIC’s decision and thus lacks standing. This argument was addressed by the court, which decided to hear the matter in full on August 19, 2024.
The ongoing legal dispute underscores the delicate balance between transparency and privacy, and the outcome will likely have significant implications for the handling of sensitive information in public reports. Ranjini is represented by a team of lawyers, including Renjith B Marar, Lakshmi N Kaimal, P Rajkumar, Keshavraj Nair, Arun Poomouli, Anand Ramesh, Abhiram S, Abhijit Sreekumar, and Gaadha Suresh.
