A Bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma provided Siddique with interim protection from arrest, directing him to cooperate with the investigation.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday(30th Sept) granted anticipatory bail to Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case filed by an actress.
A Bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma provided Siddique with interim protection from arrest, directing him to cooperate with the investigation.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Siddique, emphasized the eight-year delay in lodging the complaint.
“Other accused have been granted bail, but I am being denied. The complaint was filed in 2024, eight years after the incident. There are some Facebook posts. Just because he is a renowned actor doesn’t mean he won’t cooperate with the probe,”
Rohatgi argued.
The Court granted interim relief and stated:
“Issue notice. In the meantime, no arrest shall be made, subject to conditions set by the trial court and the petitioner joining the investigation.”
The Bench was hearing an appeal by actor Siddique challenging a Kerala High Court order from September 24, which denied him bail.
The allegations against Siddique surfaced after the public release of the Justice K Hema Committee Report on August 19, revealing widespread sexual abuse, ‘casting couch’ practices, and gender discrimination in the Malayalam film industry.
The redacted report’s publication triggered numerous sexual abuse accusations against actors, directors, and other industry figures.
Background
The complaint against Siddique was filed by an actress who accused him of raping her at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. Initially reluctant to approach the authorities, she later emailed the State Police Chief, alleging that Siddique assaulted her after she refused his demands for sexual favors in exchange for a role in a Tamil film.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was established to investigate the various sexual abuse cases arising from the Justice Hema Committee report, including Siddique’s case.
Following the filing of an FIR, Siddique absconded and sought bail from the Kerala High Court. In his anticipatory bail petition, he claimed the complainant had been harassing him since 2019 with allegations on social media, accusing him of inappropriate behavior at a theatre in 2016. He argued that the more serious rape accusation, allegedly occurring at a different location that same year, was a fabrication.
The High Court, however, found the evidence on record ‘prima facie’ sufficient to suggest Siddique’s involvement in the crime. It highlighted his outright denial of the incident and expressed concern that, given his influence, he might interfere with witnesses. The Court ruled that custodial interrogation was necessary for a thorough investigation and rejected his bail plea.
This rejection prompted Siddique’s appeal to the Supreme Court, filed by advocate Ranjeeta Rohatgi.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Siddique, requested bail, citing delays and arguing for parity with others accused in similar cases.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing the complainant, defended the delay in filing the complaint, emphasizing that the Hema Committee report must be viewed in a broader context. She referenced Siddique’s behavior, stating that in 2014, when the actress was 19, he approached her on Facebook, and in 2016, invited her to a film preview. She provided details of the alleged hotel incident, likening Siddique to a Harvey Weinstein-like figure.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the State of Kerala, opposed bail, asserting that perpetrators in such cases often operate without scrutiny and mentioning Siddique’s long-standing career in over 365 Malayalam films.
After a brief hearing, the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique.
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