Siddique's bail: Merin Joseph-Aishwarya Bhati meeting today; SC to be informed of probe progress

New Delhi: In the sexual assault case against actor Siddique, the investigating officer, Merin Joseph IPS, is set to meet Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati on Sunday in Delhi. Bhati, a senior lawyer representing the state government, will be opposing Siddique's anticipatory bail plea in the Supreme Court on Monday. The state government has decided to update the Supreme Court on the progress of the investigation into the sexual assault case against Siddique.

The bench, comprising Justices B M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, is scheduled to consider Siddique's anticipatory bail plea on Monday. Ahead of this, crime branch SP Merin Joseph will discuss strategies with Aishwarya Bhatti, finalising arguments to be presented in the Supreme Court.

The state government will inform the Supreme Court about the ongoing investigation under crime number 1192 of 2024, registered at the Museum Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram. Witnesses and statements from the survivor have already been recorded in the case. The investigation team assesses that the sexual assault allegedly took place at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, as alleged in the survivor's complaint and a Facebook post. The state government will inform the Supreme Court that the evidence so far suggests that charges of sexual assault against Siddique are valid.