The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the interim protection from arrest till further orders granted to Malayalam film actor Siddique in an alleged rape case.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Siddique to file his rejoinder affidavit to the status report filed by Kerala police, which alleged lack of cooperation in the investigation on his part.
Senior advocate V Giri, appearing for Siddique sought time to file a rejoinder affidavit to the status report but claimed that his client had been cooperating with the police's investigation.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Kerala police, said Siddique was hindering the investigation and had destroyed electronic devices besides deleting social media accounts.
The bench pointed out the survivor had lodged the complaint eight years after the incident.
Kumar said the survivor was only reiterating the incident on social media and had mustered the courage after the Justice (retired) Hema Committee report, which highlighted the situation prevailing in the Malayalam film industry.
"My apprehension is two-fold. First, he is not cooperating in the investigation. When he does come, he comes with a prepared statement that he won't answer anything more and that he can't recollect. Second, after the FIR, he has closed his Facebook account. He does not want us to get access," Kumar submitted.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the survivor, said she had been repeatedly raising the issue on her Facebook account since 2018 and it was "difficult to go against a superstar of the industry".
The bench granted two weeks' time to Siddique to file a rejoinder affidavit and posted the matter after Diwali vacations.
The status report filed by Ajichandran Nair, ACP, Narcotics Cell, of the Kerala police stated the interim protection from arrest granted to Siddique in the case had emboldened him besides demoralising and intimidating not only the survivor but also others in the film industry.
"The Supreme Court order granting interim relief to the petitioner has emboldened the accused, leading his fans to celebrate by distributing sweets on the day the bail matter was first heard in the Supreme Court. This celebration, apart from being in poor taste, is a crass and a light-hearted mockery of the seriousness of the legal proceedings that are underway against the petitioner who has been accused of a very grave offence," it said.
The police has said though the investigation was at an initial stage, there was a "stockpile of evidence" against him.
Emphasising on the need for Siddique's custodial interrogation, Kerala police has said it was essential to expose his "lie of righteousness" before he went down in history as a hero and got "venerated by subsequent generations as worthy of emulation".
On September 30, the top court granted him interim protection from arrest in the case and directed him to cooperate in the investigation.
The police said the actor, who has worked in over 350 Malayalam films, was trying to disrupt the smooth flow of the investigation by "working overtime to weaken the case".
Kerala police's affidavit said, "This has not only severely demoralised and intimidated the victim but also other powerless victims in the film industry who were warily waiting to see the outcome of the proceedings of the anticipatory bail hearing as the case is being widely reported on by the media and has been attracting much public attention." According to the police, the witnesses who had boldly come forward after the committee's report, would now be taking a step back if the interim protection was indefinitely prolonged.
"The process (of investigation) is a lengthy one and will provide ample opportunities and time for the accused to meddle with the investigation if his pre-arrest bail is extended indefinitely. It will create a barrier to effective investigation. In light of the complicated investigation involved in the crime that happened eight years ago, and the various layers of the sequence of events that needs to be unearthed as part of investigation, it is essential that the accused is in custody while the crucial investigation and evidence gathering is underway," the police said.
Considering the "influence and clout" of the accused, the police said evidence will be tampered with and witnesses will be threatened, and therefore, making the actor's custodial interrogation "absolutely necessary".
Siddique, who was booked for offences under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has claimed in his plea that complainant woman had subjected him to a "prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations since 2019.
Multiple FIRs were registered against many high-profile personalities in the Malayalam film industry following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of the revelations in the Justice (retired) Hema Committee report.
The committee was formed by the Kerala government after a 2017 actress assault case and it revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.
Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation against several actors and directors, the state government announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the charges on August 25.
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