The Kerala High Court, on Tuesday, September 24, dismissed the anticipatory bail petition moved by Malayalam actor Siddique in the rape case filed against him. The senior actor was booked by the Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on August 27 under charges of rape and criminal intimidation, based on the complaint filed by a young actor. Justice CS Dias denied the bail saying that there is prima facie evidence to show Siddique’s involvement in the crime and that his custodial interrogation is ‘inevitable’ for the case.
“...comprehending the nature, gravity, and seriousness of the accusations alleged against the petitioner, coupled with the materials placed on record that prima facie shows the petitioner’s involvement in the crime, that the petitioner’s custodial interrogation is inevitable for the proper investigation of the crime, especially since his defence is a total denial of the incident..”, the court said.
Further, the judge also added that the prosecution had a “reasonable apprehension” that Siddique might intimidate the witnesses and tamper with the evidence.
The survivor said in her complaint that Siddique allegedly invited the survivor to a hotel and assaulted her. Siddique, however, denied the allegations. He also resigned from the general secretary position of the Association of the Malayalam Movie Artistes – the largest actors’ association in Malayalam cinema, formerly headed by Mohanlal. The survivor had spoken up about the alleged assault in 2019 too. But in the wake of the Hema Committee report which has triggered a new Me Too wave in the Malayalam film industry, the survivor approached the police and filed a complaint.
The Justice Hema Committee report was published on August 19, nearly five years after its submission, and revealed the wide prevalence of sexual harassment in the film industry. After the report was made public, many women actors came out publicly to share their horrid experiences of harassment. Some of them named prominent actors, directors, and production controllers.
Earlier, the High Court closed the anticipatory bail petitions of filmmaker Ranjith in the case of alleged sexual harassment filed by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra; and actor Jayasurya in the case sexual abuse, stating that the respective sections they are booked under were not non-bailable offences at the time when they were committed.