SC extends interim bail of Malayalam actor Siddique in sexual assault case

The Supreme Court on 12 November, Tuesday, extended for a week the interim anticipatory bail granted to Malayalam actor Siddique, who faces charges of raping an actress.

A bench of justices Bela M. Trivedi and S.C. Sharma decided to extend the interim relief after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared on Siddique’s behalf, requested to post the matter for hearing next week, citing his own ill health.

In the course of the hearing, the Kerala Police apprised the apex court that though Siddique was appearing before the investigating officials, he did not cooperate with the ongoing probe and tendered evasive responses.

On the other hand, Mukul Rohatgi said that the Kerala Police asked the Malayalam actor to provide his mobile and laptop from 2016. At this, Justice Sharma remarked, “As per my personal experience, I bought an iPhone and gave the old one to the shop.”

Without entering into the contentions raised, the apex court decided to adjourn the matter on Mukul Rohatgi’s request and in the meantime, extended the interim relief for a week. Earlier, the Supreme Court had extended the interim anticipatory bail for two weeks after Siddique’s counsel sought time to file rejoinder arguments to the status report filed by the Kerala Police.

The Kerala Police has repeatedly said that Siddique was misusing his liberty to destroy evidence and failed to cooperate with the ongoing probe.

In an order passed on September 30, the Supreme Court issued notice on Siddique's plea for anticipatory bail and granted him interim pre-arrest bail. 'It is directed that in the event of arrest of the petitioner, he shall be released on bail, subject to the conditions that may be imposed by the trial court and subject to his joining the investigation and remaining present before the Investigating Officer as and when called upon to do so,' the SC had ordered.

A police case against Siddique was registered based on a complaint by an actress who accused him of raping her in a state-owned hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016.

The actress, who initially hesitated to file a police complaint, later emailed the state police chief, alleging that Siddique raped her after she refused to give in to his demands for sexual favours in exchange for a role in a Tamil movie. When this revelation came out, Siddique, who had been recently elected general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), quit the post.

After that, the entire executive committee, chaired by president Mohanlal, also resigned.

Siddique had contended that this particular actress had been harassing him since 2019, making repeated claims on social media that he tried to molest her at a theatre in 2016, and after the Justice Hema Committee report was published, she made a more serious allegation of rape at a different place in the same year.

Trouble began for Siddique when on 24 September, the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail. Within a few hours, Siddique went missing and police were unable to trace and arrest him.

He re-surfaced after 30 September, when the apex court granted him bail and asked him to present himself before the probe team.

In the wake of the explosive Justice Hema Committee report on the condition of women in the Malayalam film industry, released in August, a storm of allegations was unleashed against several leading figures.

As a few former actresses publicly revealed their bad experiences, police were quick to act, registering 11 FIRs against various film personalities.