SC extends interim bail to Malayalam actor Siddique in sexual assault case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 12) extended by a week the interim bail granted to Malayalam actor Siddique, who is accused of raping an actress.

A bench of justices Bela M. Trivedi and SC Sharma decided to extend the interim relief after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Siddique, sought to submit the matter for hearing next week, citing his own health condition.

During the hearing, the Kerala Police informed the top court that despite appearing before the investigating officers, Siddique was uncooperative in the ongoing investigation and gave evasive answers.

On the other hand, Mukul Rohatgi said that the Kerala Police had been asking the Malayalam actor for his mobile phone and laptop since 2016. Thereupon, Judge Sharma said, “According to my personal experience, I bought an iPhone and gave the old one to the authorities. shopping centre.”

Without going into the arguments expressed, the high court decided to postpone the case on the request of Mukul Rohatgi and meanwhile extended the interim relief for another week. Earlier, the Supreme Court had extended interim bail by two weeks after Siddique’s lawyer sought time to file arguments in response to the status report submitted by the Kerala Police.

Kerala Police has repeatedly said that Siddique abused his freedom to destroy evidence and was not cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

In an order passed on September 30, the Supreme Court issued notice regarding Siddique’s bail plea and granted him interim pre-arrest bail. ‘In case the petitioner is caught, it is ordered that he be released on bail subject to the conditions to be determined by the court, subject to his participation in the investigation and his presence before the Investigating Officer. SC was called to do so’ he had ordered.