New Delhi:
After a prolonged period of hide and seek with police,
Rape-accused Malayalam actor Siddique finally got interim protection from arrest on Monday.
Siddique, who is facing rape charges, had moved Supreme Court challenging a September 24 Kerala High Court order rejecting his bail plea.
On Monday, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma granted Siddique protection from arrest for the time being and issued a notice to Kerala government and the victim.
The court asked advocate Vrinda Grover, who appeared for the victim, the reason for delay in registering the complaint.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Siddique, argued that the complaint was lodged by the victim in 2024, eight years after the alleged offence had taken place.
Last week, Kerala High Court rejected the bail plea of Siddique, stating that the charges against him were serious in nature and his custodial interrogation was of prime importance.
However, Siddique pleaded that the complainant had subjected him to a “prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations since 2019”.
Siddique has been booked for offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the BNS.
