The Supreme Court provided temporary protection to Malayalam film actor Siddique in a rape case on Monday and instructed him to cooperate with the investigation. Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma of the Supreme Court issued notices to the Kerala government and the victim in the case, requesting their responses within two weeks. This decision came following Siddique's appeal challenging a Kerala High Court ruling that denied him anticipatory bail. The court ordered that Siddique be granted bail if he is arrested in connection with Crime No.1192 of 2024 from the Museum police station in Thiruvananthapuram. However, this is subject to certain conditions imposed by the trial court, including cooperating with the investigation and being present before the investigating officer when required until the next hearing date. The court questioned the delay in filing the complaint against Siddique, with advocate Vrinda Grover citing the Justice Hema Committee report on harassment and exploitation in the Malayalam film industry as part of the context. Siddique's counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, highlighted a complaint filed in 2024 after a delay of eight years, while Grover mentioned specific instances related to the case. The court raised concerns about the delay in reporting the incident and questioned the reasons for waiting eight years to file a complaint.Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Kerala government, objected to the approval of anticipatory bail. A recent court ruling denied Siddique's request for anticipatory bail in a rape case on September 24, citing the gravity of the allegations as necessitating his custodial interrogation for a thorough investigation. Also, check out the top-rated Malayalam movies of 2024 in the following link.