The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to grant anticipatory bail to Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case filed by an actress. The order was delivered by Justice CS Dias.
The allegations surfaced following the public release of the Justice K Hema Committee Report on August 19, which exposed widespread sexual abuse, “casting couch” practices, and gender discrimination within the Malayalam film industry. The redacted report triggered a wave of sexual abuse claims against actors, directors, and other film personalities, including Siddique.
The complaint against Siddique was lodged by an actress who accused him of raping her at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. She initially hesitated to approach the police but later emailed the State Police Chief, claiming that Siddique assaulted her after she rejected his demand for sexual favors in exchange for a role in a Tamil movie.
The investigation into this case is being conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), tasked with probing sexual abuse cases that have emerged since the Justice Hema Committee report was made public.
In his plea for anticipatory bail, Siddique argued that the complainant has been harassing him on social media since 2019, alleging that he attempted sexual misconduct at a theatre in 2016. He noted that the recent accusation of rape pertains to a different location but the same year.
Siddique’s petition claimed that the actress altered her allegations from attempted assault to rape, knowing that the former is a bailable offense. He contended that this shift was a deliberate attempt to fabricate a more severe charge against him. He also pointed out inconsistencies in her statements and emphasized the significant delay in filing the complaint.
Siddique further argued that his custodial interrogation is unnecessary for evidence collection in the case. The actor was represented by Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai and advocates Philip T Varghese and Sujesh Menon VB.
