Kerala HC rejects actor Siddique's anticipatory bail plea in sexual assault case

The Kerala High Court rejected the anticipatory bail filed by Malayalam actor Siddique in a sexual assault case lodged against him by an actress.

The case has caught many eyeballs and there are serious allegations of rape, and the Trivandrum Museum Police have raised an FIR against Siddique in August this year. Charges of rape that come under the non-bailable crime against him have put quite a test on the veteran actor's credibility.

The actress, who has been complaining, filed her statement before the Special Investigation Team (SIT), instituted to investigate several sexual harassment complaints in the Malayalam film industry.Siddique's case forms a part of an even more extensive probe into further cases of misconduct and abuse within the industry, some of which have brought big shots under the scanner.
According to PTI, in his anticipatory bail plea, Siddique contested the accusations with the point that the actress had been making unsubstantiated claims against him for the past five years. The details of the preliminary charges about improper behavior and verbal sexual offers made at a theater in 2016 were to be found with Siddique. The recent charges of rape, taking place at a different location within the same year, are said to have altered the characteristics of the case.
Siddique further argues in his plea that the actress's allegations were an answer to a press conference he attended with other office bearers of AMMA after the release of the report by the Justice Hema Committee.
With these charges, Siddique resigned as the General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, an organization he headed with much prominence.