Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail to Malayalam Actor Siddique in the Rape Case
Today (September 30, 2024), the Supreme Court (SC) of India granted interim protection from arrest to Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case filed against him by an actress. Earlier on September 24, the Kerala High Court judge, Justice CS Dias, dismissed his petition seeking anticipatory bail in the matter, observing that the materials on record indicated Siddique’s involvement in the crime. Against the decision of the HC, Siddique filed an SLP (Special Leave Petition) before the top court. Today, the two judges of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted anticipatory bail to Siddique and ordered him to make himself available for investigation. During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for Siddique highlighted the 8-year delay in filing the complaint. He said, “Others got bail and I am refused. A complaint was lodged in 2024 after 8 years. There are some Facebook posts. Just because I am a well known actor. He is a famous actor. He will be available for probe.” Therefore, the bench ordered, “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.”
The allegations against the Malayalam actor were made after the release of the Justice Hema Committee Report regarding the exploitations faced by woman in Malayalam cinema. Following this, the actress filed a complaint against Siddique alleging that he raped her at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. An FIR was lodged, following these allegations, against Siddique under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The matter was first heard by the Kerala HC which rejected the contention of Malayalam actor Siddique that the delay in the registration was fatal. The HC order reads, “Whether the survivor's above explanation is plausible will have to be ultimately evaluated and decided after a full-fledged trial. Nevertheless, the contention that the above delay vitiates the entire prosecution case is not a ground for scraping the complaint, particularly while considering a bail application. Victims of sexual abuse and assault may experience psychological, emotional and social barriers that feed the delay in reporting the matter, which necessarily has to be understood in the context of the trauma.”
After hearing the contentions today, the SC bench granted interim protection from arrest to Siddique.
