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The Kerala High Court on Thursday observed that since the production unit of each film industry is an establishment employing Actor Artists and other workers, therefore, such production units have to maintain an Internal Complaints Committee, if they are engaging more than 10 workers, as is contemplated under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).

The bench of Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly, however, made it clear that the political parties, which are not having an employer-employee relationship with its members and which are not carrying on with any private venture, undertaking, enterprises, institution, establishment, etc. in contemplation of a 'workplace' as defined under section 2(o)(ii) of POSH Act, are not liable to make any Internal Complaints Committee.

The observations have come in a couple of Public Interest Litigations filed by two organizations having connections with film, Television and other allied activities seeking to constitute a grievance redressal mechanism against the sexual harassment as per the directions of the Supreme Court in Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan [(1997) 6 SCC 241] and in accordance with the POSH Act. 

Apart from the abovementioned observations, Court also conveyed its desire that the organizations associated with the film industry viz., Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA), FEFKA, Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, Kerala Film Producers Association may take steps to constitute a joint committee including their members in tune with the provisions of POSH Act, 2013 to deal with sexual harassment of women.

Court said, "(This) would definitely render sufficient confidence to women Actor Artists and other employees & other workers employed by the production unit; which would, in turn, protect the dignity, and make the right to life and personal liberty of the women in the film industry more meaningful and fruitful."

One of the petitioners Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organization of women artists under the leadership of actors like Parvathy Thiruvothu, Revathy, Rima Killingal, Anjali Menon etc. had filed a PIL plea before the high court as an aftermath of the case pertaining to abduction and molestation of a Malayalam actor, in which Malayali actor Dileep is an accused. 

The WCC sought Court's intervention alleging that AMMA is trying to defend Dileep rather than protecting the survivor. Therefore, WCC had sought Court's directions declaring that AMMA is legally obliged to constitute a complaints committee against sexual harassment for its members.

Later on, another PIL filed by the Centre For Constitutional Rights Research and Advocacy (CCRRA) was also clubbed with WCC's plea. CCRRA, in addition to Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), had also sought Court's directions to various political parties, Kerala Union of Working Journalists and Indian Newspaper Society to form ICC as per POSH Act.

Case Title: Women in Cinema Collective v. State of Kerala