Actor Siddique moves SC for anticipatory bail after Kerala HC denies plea in sexual abuse case

Kochi: Actor Siddique filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Supreme Court, requesting a stay on the Kerala High Court's decision to deny him bail in a sexual abuse case. The petition was submitted by advocate Ranjeeta Rohtagi, a junior to senior lawyer Mukul Rohtagi, at around 7 pm on Wednesday (Sep 25). Mukul Rohtagi, who previously defended actor Dileep in a similar case, will also represent Siddique.

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Ranjeeta Rohtagi will request a Friday hearing via email to the Mentioning Officer on Thursday at 10 AM. The officer will forward the email to the Registrar of Judicial Administration. The Chief Justice will review the matter over lunch and decide on immediate listing based on urgency. Typically, anticipatory bail petitions are heard the next day, according to Supreme Court sources.

In the meantime, the Kerala government has submitted a caveat in the Supreme Court, seeking the opportunity to present its arguments before any ruling is made on Siddique's anticipatory bail plea. The government intends to appoint former Solicitor General Ranjith Kumar as its counsel. Additionally, the survivor in the case has also filed a caveat against Siddique's bail plea, with well-known advocate Vrinda Grover representing her in the Supreme Court.

Siddique is making swift legal moves after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court. Immediately after the High Court's ruling, Siddique began preparations to challenge the decision. His legal team initiated discussions with senior Supreme Court advocate Mukul Rohtagi, reviewing the verdict and highlighting its flaws to avoid arrest.

Siddique's petition argues that the allegations of abuse were made after an eight-year delay, with no clear explanation provided for the time gap in filing the complaint. He maintains that he is a respected member of society with no other criminal cases against him, and thus, there is no need for custodial interrogation. Instead, he asserts that he is willing to cooperate with the investigation as directed by the court. Reports also suggest that Siddique may reference certain social media comments made by the survivor in his petition.
 

• Siddique
• sexual abuse
• Supreme Court
• anticipatory bail