Crucial day for Siddique; Famous woman judge to decide fate on anticipatory bail

NEW DELHI: The anticipatory bail petition filed by actor Siddique in the molestation case will be considered on Monday by the Supreme Court’s two-judge bench consisting of a woman judge. The case is listed 62nd before the bench of Justices Bela Madhurya Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma.

Justice Bela Madhurya Trivedi is known for her tough stance in prominent cases. SP Merin Joseph of the Special Investigation Team will be in the court with the case files.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi will appear for Siddique, but the plea was filed through his daughter Ranjeeta Rohatgi. Additional Solicitor General and Senior Advocate Aishwarya Bhati is appearing for the state government. Initially, the move was to assign former Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar for the task but the government opted for a woman lawyer at the last moment.

Senior Advocate Vrinda Grover will appear for the victim. Apart from the government and the victim, the petitions were also filed by social workers like Paichira Nawaz and Ajeesh Kalam.

• The state government will demand that the petition be dismissed without even issuing a notice.
• The FIR was registered in 2024, eight years after the alleged molestation took place in 2016.