Malayalam actor Siddique moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking anticipatory bail in a rape case registered against him on the basis of allegations made by a young actor, Live Law reported.

On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court dismissed Siddique’s petition seeking anticipatory bail, noting that the evidence prima facie suggested his involvement in the case.

Siddique filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court in response to the High Court’s decision. The Kerala government and the complainant have filed caveats.

The woman has accused Siddique of raping her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. The police booked Siddique for rape and criminal intimidation in August. He was also accused of illegally detaining and threatening the woman.

The complainant is among several women from the Malayalam film industry who have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by their male colleagues following the release of the Justice Hema committee report in August.

Siddique’s petition in the High Court had contended that the allegations against him were made in retaliation for a press conference he had addressed alongside the office bearers of the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors soon after the Hema committee report was published.

The complainant had made allegations against him in 2019, Siddique contended, adding that important details in her account had been changed so that he could be booked for a non-bailable offence.

The state government, however, said that while there were minor variations in the statements given by the complainant, she had nevertheless publicly accused Siddique of misbehaving with her several times since 2019.

Other members of the Malayalam film industry who have been booked on charges of sexual misconduct after the release of the Hema committee report include actor and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA M Mukesh, actor Jayasurya and director VA Shrikumar Menon.