The Supreme Court on Monday granted Malayalam actor Siddique protection from arrest for two weeks in connection with a sexual assault case filed by an actress.
The plea was heard by a bench comprising Jusctice Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Kerala government over his challenge to the high court decision to dismiss his bail.
This comes after Kerala High Court Justice CS Dias rejected his plea seeking anticipatory bail, citing materials on record indicated his prima facie involvement. It added that the seriousness of the allegations required custodial interrogation for an investigation.
The allegation by the actress had forced Siddique to resign as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Following this, she registered a formal complaint with the police. The FIR was lodged under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Siddique is among one of the actors who were accused of sexual assault or harassment by women in the Malayalam movie industry. These came following the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which brought to light the explotations faced by female artistes in Mollywood.
