KOCHI: Actor Siddique is on the run after the Kerala High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday in the alleged rape of a young actress in 2016. The police have issued a lookout notice against him. There are reports that the thespian would move the Supreme Court against the HC order.
The special investigation team (SIT) probing the case found that Siddique was not at his Kochi residence. His mobile phones were also found switched off.
An investigation is underway based on the relatives of the actor and hotels in Kochi, police sources said. “We are monitoring domestic terminals at the Kochi airport. His mobile tower location was last shown near the airport,” said a source close to the SIT. Meanwhile, Siddique’s son met senior lawyers of the High Court in Kochi, sparking speculations that the former general secretary of the AMMA will move the Supreme Court against the rejection of his pre-arrest bail plea.
Earlier, dismissing his anticipatory bail petition, Justice C S Dias observed that an overall scrutiny of the facts, the law on the point, and the nature, gravity and seriousness of the accusations against the actor, coupled with the materials placed on record, show prima facie his involvement in the crime. Hence, the petitioner’s custodial interrogation is inevitable for a proper investigation of the crime, especially since his defense is a total denial of the incident. His potency test is also to be conducted, the court said.
The prosecution said Siddique raped the woman at Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. There are witnesses and incriminating materials to establish that the petitioner and survivor were together in the hotel room when the alleged rape took place, it said.
The counsel for Siddique argued that the alleged incident occurred in 2016, but the FIR was registered only in 2024, that is, after eight years, proving the falsity and hollowness of the allegation. The court dismissed the petitioner’s contention that complaint lacks credibility as she had earlier made unsubstantiated allegations against 14 men.
Delay not ground for scrapping plaint: HC on case against actor Siddique
The court observed that the submission is “unwarranted and reflects an uncharitable view of the survivor’s circumstances”.
“A woman’s experiences of sexual assault are not a reflection of her character, but rather an indication of her suffering. The attempt to blame a woman for speaking out may be a strategy to silence her, which is hostile to the supremacy of the law,” the court noted. The court also observed that the contention of the actor that the delay in lodging the complaint vitiated the entire prosecution case was not a ground for scrapping the complaint, particularly while considering a bail application.
“Victims of sexual abuse and assault may experience psychological, emotional and social barriers that feed the delay in reporting the matter, which necessarily has to be understood in the context of the trauma.”
Additional Public Prosecutor P Narayanan submitted that there is a stockpile of evidence against the petitioner. If he is granted pre-arrest bail, considering his influence and clout, he would tamper with the evidence and threaten the witnesses.
The actor has been charged with offences under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).