Supreme Court extends pre-arrest bail for Malayalam actor Siddique in sexual assault case
The Hindu
Supreme Court extends bail for Malayalam actor Siddique in sexual assault case amid investigation into film industry harassment.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) extended the interim anticipatory bail granted to Malayalam actor Siddique in a sexual assault case.
A Bench headed by Justice Bela Trivedi scheduled the case after two weeks following a request made by senior advocate V. Giri, for Mr. Siddique, seeking more time to file a response to a Kerala police report seeking his custodial interrogation.
Also read: Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes | AMMA’s moment of reckoning
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar said Mr. Siddique was unwilling to cooperate with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. The SIT is currently investigating over 30 FIRs registered across Kerala after the Justice Hema Commission report blew the lid off the “shocking and rampant” sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry.
The committee had found that the “general issue faced by women are sexual demands made to women for the very entry into cinema and for getting chances to work in cinema”.
The police report, filed through Kerala State counsel Nishe Rajen Shonker, referred to the Justice Hema Committee findings “that many perpetrators are powerful and very influential. The powerful lobby in the film industry is like a mafia since it could do anything according to its whims and fancies. No man or woman dares to utter any word which may offend anyone belonging to the power group”.
When the Bench, which had initially given interim relief to Mr. Siddique in September, said the victim had delayed filing the complaint, Mr. Kumar said the balance of power was completely tilted against the woman.
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