Kochi: The Kerala government has appointed senior advocates to oppose the anticipatory bail petition of actor Siddique, which is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. According to sources, former Solicitor General Ranjith Kumar and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati will represent the state government.

The anticipatory bail petition is linked to a sexual abuse case. Siddique argued that he is cooperating with the investigation and therefore should be granted bail. He has informed the court that he does not possess the phone requested by the investigation team and has submitted all other documents they sought.

However, the state government contends that the actor is not fully cooperating with the investigation. They assert that custodial interrogation is necessary and, as such, his anticipatory bail plea should be rejected. The government noted that there are many examples, even at the international level, of delayed complaints regarding sexual assaults. They cited a case against former U.S. President Donald Trump, which was registered 21 years after the alleged incident.

The complaint against Siddique was filed by a female actress, who alleged that he sexually assaulted her on January 28, 2016, at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. Previously, the Supreme Court granted him interim anticipatory bail. The report from the officer in charge of the investigation has been submitted to the Supreme Court ahead of the scheduled hearing. The state government argues that the case should not be dismissed solely on the grounds of a delayed complaint, noting that the Supreme Court has taken a similar stance in the past.