The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 19, granted permanent anticipatory bail to Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case filed against him by an actress.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, The bench, comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, made permanent the interim anticipatory bail granted on September 30, but directed Siddique to cooperate with the investigation and surrender his passport to the investigating officer.
The charges against Siddique surfaced after a series of sexual misconduct allegations rocked the Malayalam film industry, following the release of the Justice K Hema Committee report in August. The report exposed widespread sexual abuse and gender discrimination within the industry.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned why the complainant waited eight years to file the case, especially after having made similar allegations on Facebook in 2018 against 14 individuals, including Siddique. The court noted the delay and lack of formal reporting to the Hema Committee.
"Considering the fact that the complainant lodged the complaint almost eight years after the alleged incident in 2016, and had also posted on Facebook in 2018 making allegations about 14 people, including the appellant, with regard to alleged sexual abuse, and as the fact that she had not approached the Hema Committee, we are inclined to accept the present appeal subject to conditions," the Supreme Court stated.
In her complaint, the actress accused Siddique of raping her at a hotel Thiruvananthapuram in 2016.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing the complainant, argued that the survivor found the courage to file the complaint only after the Hema Committee report was published and following intervention from the Kerala High Court. "Why was she silent? You can see from the Facebook posts that there was an attempt to speak out, despite a backlash from his followers. The trial will suffer if Siddique is not interrogated," Grover said.
Siddique's counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, denied the charges, calling them questionable and asserting that the complainant's accusations were unfounded.
A representative for the Kerala government claimed that Siddique was not cooperating with the investigation and urged the court to ensure the public prosecutor's voice was heard before making a decision on bail.
