Supreme Court extends Malayalam actor Siddique's pre-arrest bail in rape case

The Supreme Court granted pre-arrest bail to the actor on September 30 on the condition that he would appear before police for questioning and cooperate with the investigation into the alleged rape case.

In Short

• Supreme Court extends actor's pre-arrest bail by 2 more weeks
• Questions delay in filing complaint
• Actor denies allegations, claims harassment

The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended Malayalam actor Siddique's pre-arrest bail in a rape case by two weeks and questioned the delay in filing a complaint against the 61-year-old.

The extension came weeks after the top court granted pre-arrest bail to Siddique on September 30 on the condition that he would appear before police for questioning and cooperate with the investigation.

The case was registered on August 19 based on a complaint filed by an actor, in which she alleged that Siddique had raped her in a hotel in 2016. In the same year, he also tried to sexually assault her at a theatre before the rape incident.

On Tuesday, a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma made the observation while hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by Siddique.

"Complaint is filed after 8 years?" Justice Trivedi asked.

In response, senior lawyer Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the state of Kerala, said, although the complainant had highlighted the incident on Facebook years ago, it takes a survivor to gather courage to officially report such an incident.

"She has been writing on Facebook. It took time to get the courage," Kumar said.

Echoing Kumar's remarks, Vrinda Grover, another lawyer appearing for the complainant, said, "It is not a question of silence for 8 years. It takes time and she has faced consequences."

Appearing for Siddique, senior lawyer VV Giri sought time to file a rejoinder to the status report filed by the Kerala Police opposing his petition and apprised the court that the actor had appeared before the investigating officer after he was granted pre-arrest bail.

The actor has denied the allegations levelled against him and said the complainant subjected him to a "prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations since 2019".

He, however, stepped down as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA).

The actor filed her case after the release of the Hema Committee report that shed light on the widespread and persistent sexual harassment faced by women in Malayalam cinema, with many alleging they were subjected to unwanted advances even before commencing work.

Multiple FIRs have been registered against many high-profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against them in the wake of revelations made in the Hema Committee report.