Kochi: The Kerala High Court has sent a notice to the Kerala government and Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) over a petition filed by Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) seeking constitution of a cell in the artists’ body to address issues of sexual harassment.

The plea, moved by WCC and its president Rima Kallingal, was considered by a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar.

According to the petitioners, a grievance redressal cell is imperative in AMMA in the backdrop of the numerous incidents related to sexual exploitation and attacks being revealed now. As per the Vishakha case judgment of the Supreme Court, all organisations, including societies, are bound to set up a mechanism to deal with complains related to sexual harassment at workplace.

The petitioners say that the absence of such a mechanism in AMMA was a gross violation of the law as well as fundamental rights. They have urged the court to issue a directive to AMMA to constitute a committee to deal with such issues. The notice sent to the government and AMMA is meant to elicit their opinion on the matter.