The Kerala High Court has ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the use of alcohol and drugs on film sets and related workplaces, following revelations from the Justice Hema Committee report. The court directed the SIT to take appropriate legal action and continue monitoring for similar violations in the future to prevent further misuse of substances within the film industry.

The court noted that witness testimonies from the Hema Committee report pointed to several cognizable offenses, and as per the court's order from September 10, 2024, these statements are to be treated as 'information' under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). The SIT has been tasked with acting accordingly, ensuring that these cases are handled with the necessary legal diligence.

Furthermore, the court emphasized the importance of protecting the privacy of victims and survivors. It ordered that their identities should not be disclosed in any official documents and that no copies of the First Information Statement (FIS) should be made public, except to the victim or survivor involved in the case.

"The names of victims/survivors shall be masked in all official records, and the FIS should not be uploaded or shared publicly. Only the victim or survivor will have access to the FIS, and the accused will only be given access after the final report is filed," the court stated.

The court also stressed that witnesses should not be forced to give statements. The SIT has been instructed to contact victims and survivors to record their statements, but if witnesses refuse to cooperate and there is insufficient evidence, the SIT is to follow procedures outlined in Section 176 of the BNSS.

The decision comes after a redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report was made public in August 2024. The report, which examined the harassment of women in the Malayalam film industry, uncovered instances of exploitation and abuse, as well as the existence of a "power group" of male producers, directors, and actors dominating the industry. The committee's findings were initially submitted to the Kerala government in 2019 and later made public through the Right to Information Act.