Delhi High Court rejects PIL seeking enquiry into sexual harassment in film industry

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the National Commission For Women (NCW) to inquire into human rights violations faced by women artists in the Indian film industry..A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the PIL was based on presumptions and was not backed by concrete data. “The entire plea is based on surmises without any empirical data. In so far as the K. Hema Committee report is concerned, complaints have already been filed, and some action has been taken. In the given circumstances, we do not consider it appropriate to accede to the prayer made by the petitioner,” the Court stated. .The petition filed by advocate Ajeesh Gopi said that the impetus for filing the petition arose from the findings of the Justice Hema Committee set up by the Kerala government in 2017 to study the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.The committee's report was recently made public and revealed widespread sexual harassment and casting couch practices in the Malayalam film industry. The report also led to a slew of sexual harassment complaints by women working in Malayalam film industry.The PIL before the Delhi High Court said there are gaps in legal protection available for women in informal employment. It was stated that there are no internal complaints committee in the movie industry and "sexual slavery" continues to persist hindering women's ability to practice their profession freely and safely.“The judiciary has a constitutional duty to protect fundamental rights, particularly when legislative gaps or deficiencies threaten the effective realisation of those rights,” the PIL stated. .The PIL sought directions to the State of Kerala to submit the complete, un-redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee Report before the Delhi High Court.It also sought directions to NCW to recommend legislative amendments to the Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act (POSH Act) to prevent gender based discrimination, exploitation, sexual harassment of women in the Indian Film Industry.It further sought directions to the NCW to submit a comprehensive study report focusing on the need for legislative reforms to address the issue..However, the Court stated that it cannot direct a “roving and fishing enquiry” in the absence of empirical data to support the claims made by the petitioner.Hence, it proceeded to dismiss the PIL.