Kerala HC rejects Siddique's anticipatory bail in rape case, police issues look out notice

On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court denied anticipatory bail to Malayalam actor Siddique in connection with a sexual harassment case filed by a female actor at the Museum police station in Thiruvananthapuram.

The complainant alleges that Siddique raped her at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. The charges in the FIR include offences under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is currently investigating the matter.

Following the rejection of the anticipatory bail, the police have issued a lookout circular and intensified their efforts to locate the actor. The circular has been implemented at airports also to prevent him from leaving the country.

Reportedly, according to police sources, Siddique's current whereabouts are unknown, and his mobile phones are switched off. He was not located at his residences in Padamugal, Kakkanad, or Aluva, where his house was found locked.

In his petition, Siddique argued he has been the target of a prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations by the complainant since 2019. He claimed that for the past five years, she has made repeated claims of "attempted sexual misconduct" and "verbal sexual propositions" occurring in a theatre in 2016. However, her latest allegation involves a more serious charge of rape at a different location in the same year. Siddique submitted several Facebook posts from the complainant, arguing that these posts consistently reference only attempted sexual misconduct and verbal propositions at the theatre.

Siddique contended that the complainant understood that an allegation of attempted sexual assault is a bailable offence, which would not warrant his arrest. He argued that she has now escalated her claims to include rape in order to create a situation that justifies his detention.

He further noted that the complainant’s initial allegations placed the incident in a theatre during a movie preview, a location he described as inappropriate for non-verbal sexual acts, thus limiting the alleged misconduct to verbal abuse. Siddique suggested that the complainant has since sought a more suitable setting for her claims, now asserting that the incident occurred in a hotel room where she alleged the rape took place. He argued that this significant shift in narrative indicates a deliberate attempt to falsely implicate him.