Malayalam actor Siddique arrested in sexual assault case, granted bail
What's the story
Malayalam actor Siddique was arrested on Friday (December 6) in a sexual assault case. The actor was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing complaints related to the Hema Committee report.
After his arrest, Siddique was subjected to a medical check-up at Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital and was to be produced in court shortly.
However, he was immediately released on bail as the SC had earlier granted him anticipatory bail.
Bail details
Siddique's anticipatory bail and SC's questions
On November 19, the Supreme Court granted Siddique anticipatory bail after the Kerala High Court had denied it.
The denial was based on evidence pointing toward his involvement in the crime and the need for custodial interrogation.
During the bail hearing, a SC bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi questioned the survivor's delayed complaint, even though she had posted about the incident on Facebook in 2019.
Case background
Allegations against Siddique date back to 2016
The case against Siddique dates back to August this year when a female actor accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2016.
An FIR was filed against him under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The survivor alleged Siddique invited her to a hotel and sexually assaulted her.
While Siddique denied the allegations, he resigned from his position as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).
Defense strategy
Siddique's defense and the Hema Committee report
In his bail plea in the Supreme Court, Siddique's main defense was questioning the survivor's credibility. He highlighted her Facebook posts and the delay in filing the complaint as reasons to doubt.
This argument was also presented in Kerala High Court but was rejected as "unwarranted and uncharitable."
The woman's complaint came soon after a redacted version of the Hema Committee report was released, exposing rampant sexual harassment in Malayalam cinema.