The Court, therefore, instructed the SIT to immediately appoint a nodal officer whose contact details were to be made publicly available.

"It was pointed out that some of the victims who preferred complaints before the Hema Committee have since approached the SIT. Some of them have received intimidating calls and they can't approach the SIT as and when they get such threatening calls. Taking note of the same we deem it appropriate to direct the SIT to immediately nominate a nodal officer and give adequate publicity of the name and contact of the nodal officers nominated by them," the Court said.

The Bench further emphasized that the nodal officer should serve as the primary point of contact for victims and witnesses facing intimidation, enabling them to directly report incidents of harassment to the SIT.

Additionally, the Court directed the SIT to submit a detailed report outlining the steps taken to appoint the nodal officer, along with the measures implemented by the officer to address the safety concerns of witnesses and complainants.

Justice Nambiar stressed the need for a secure and accessible grievance redressal system to protect victims and witnesses from any form of retaliation.

The Bench was hearing cases linked to the public release of the Justice K Hema Committee report, which examined the working conditions of women in the Malayalam film industry and revealed widespread sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

The Court has also been reviewing the implementation of guidelines designed to safeguard workplace rights, promote safety, and ensure gender equality within the industry.

In a prior hearing, the Court admitted a petition from the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), advocating for the establishment of a Cinema Code of Conduct (CCC) to ensure safe, fair, and well-regulated working environments on film sets.

Today's order came after senior counsel representing the WCC raised concerns about threats being made to witnesses and victims wishing to file complaints of sexual harassment in Mollywood.

The case will be heard again on December 11.

Senior Counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan, along with advocates Sradhaxna Mudrika, V Shyamohan, and Kuriakose Varghese, represented the Women in Cinema Collective during the proceedings.