A Division of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the State government and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) on a writ petition filed by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) seeking a directive to AMMA to constitute a complaints committee against sexual harassment in terms of the Supreme Court guidelines in the Vishaka case and under the provisions of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)Act, 2013.
The petition has been moved by Rima Kallingal Rajan, President, Women in Cinema Collective. According to her the Supreme Court guidelines in the Vishaka Vs State of Rajasthan case as well as the provisions of the law relating to the prevention of the sexual harassment were squarely applicable to the AMMA and cast an obligation on it to constitute a grievance redressal mechanism.
The failure to constitute a committee by the association had left its members without any adequate remedy against sexual harassment faced by them in their profession. The mechanism was all the more essential now when revelations of widespread sexual assault and harassment of women in film industries across the country were coming out,she added.
The non-constitution of such a mechanism by the registered Association was violation of the fundamental rights of its members. In fact, similarly placed other associations had taken steps to provide a redressal mechanism, the petitioner said
