Supreme Court extends bail of Malayalam actor Siddique in rape case, questions delay in filing complaint

The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the bail of Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case by two weeks, questioning the delay in filing a complaint against the 61-year-old.

The extension came weeks after the Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to Siddique on September 30, on the condition that he appear before police for questioning and cooperate with the investigation.

The case was registered on August 19 on the basis of a complaint filed by an actor, alleging that Siddique raped her at a hotel in 2016. The same year, he also tried to sexually assault her in a theater before the rape incident. .

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

“Complaint will be filed after 8 years?” asked Justice Trivedi.

In response, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the State of Kerala, said that though the complainant had highlighted the incident on Facebook years ago, it takes a survivor to muster courage to officially report such an incident.

“She wrote on Facebook. It took time to gather the courage,” Kumar said.

Echoing Kumar’s comments, Vrinda Grover, another lawyer appearing on behalf of the complainant, said: “It is not a matter of staying silent for eight years. It takes time and she has suffered the consequences.”

Appearing for Siddique, senior advocate VV Giri sought time to file a rejoinder on the status report filed by the Kerala Police opposing his plea and informed the court that the actor appeared before the investigating officer had appeared after he was granted interim bail.

The actor has denied the allegations against him, saying the complainant has subjected him to a “prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations” since 2019.

However, he resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA).

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

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