The Supreme Court on Monday granted Malayalam actor Siddique interim protection from arrest in a rape case registered against him on the complaint of a young actor, Live Law reported.

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.

Siddique moved the Supreme Court seeking interim relief after the Kerala High Court denied him anticipatory bail on September 24. The High Court had noted that the available evidence suggested his involvement in the case.

The Kerala Police on Friday issued a lookout notice for Siddique, who absconded after being denied anticipatory bail. While the case against him was filed last month, the police did not take steps to arrest him until recently.

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

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 Justice Hema committee report was published.

The complainant had made the 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 Justice Hema committee report include actor and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA M Mukesh, actor Jayasurya and director VA Shrikumar Menon.

First FIR based on Justice Hema committee report registered

The Kerala Police have registered a case of sexual harassment against make-up artist Saji Koratty, who was mentioned in the testimonies given to the Justice Hema committee, PTI reported on Monday.

This is the first case filed based on the committee’s report, The Indian Express reported. It was registered after the High Court directed the state government to go through the report and take action in instances where a case could be made out.

The case is based on the statement of a woman from Kolam. The matter has been assigned to a Special Investigation Team set up to probe cases of sexual misconduct arising from the report.