Siddique gets interim protection from arrest in rape case
The Supreme Court has granted Malayalam actor Siddique anticipatory bail in a rape case filed by a fellow female actor. The bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, provided Siddique with interim protection from arrest while instructing him to cooperate with the investigation. This decision was made after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Siddique, emphasized the eight-year delay in filing the complaint against his client.
'There are some FB posts. Just because I'm well known...'
Rohatgi argued, "Others got it and I am refused. A complaint was lodged in 2024 after 8 years. There are some FB posts. Just because I am a well known actor... He is a famous actor. He will be available for probe." Following this, the court stated, "Issue notice. In the meantime there shall be no arrest of the petitioner on conditions by trial court and subject to him joining the investigation."
Siddique's plea followed Kerala HC's bail rejection
The SC was reviewing Siddique's plea against an order by the Kerala High Court, which had denied him bail on September 24. The case against the actor was initiated based on a complaint from an actor who alleged that he raped her at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. She claimed that Siddique assaulted her after she declined his demand for sexual favors in return for a role in a Tamil film.
Siddique's anticipatory bail plea and allegations
In his anticipatory bail plea filed before the Kerala High Court, actor Siddique claimed that the complainant has been tormenting him since 2019. According to him, she's been repeatedly accusing him on social media of trying to misbehave with her at a theater back in 2016. However, the High Court found enough evidence hinting at Siddique's possible involvement in the crime. They also raised concerns about him potentially influencing witnesses, given his influential status.
SIT is investigating the case against Siddique
The probe into the case against Siddique is in the hands of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that's been set up to look into the sexual abuse cases that came to light after the Justice Hema Committee report was made public. After an FIR was lodged, Siddique went AWOL and even asked the Kerala HC for bail. The police have even put out a lookout notice, but so far, no luck in finding him.
Siddique resigned from AMMA post amid allegations
After the allegations surfaced, Siddique stepped down as the General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). He's facing charges for rape (Section 376) and criminal intimidation (Section 506). These charges came to light following the Justice K Hema Committee Report on August 19, which revealed extensive sexual abuse, "casting couch" practices, and entrenched gender discrimination in the Malayalam film industry.
