The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to prominent Malayalam actor Siddique in a rape case registered against him based on charges by an actress. A bench comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma made the interim anticipatory bail, granted on September 30, permanent.

The top court, however, directed the actor to cooperate with the investigation and surrender his passport to the investigating officer.

The charges against Siddique came as a spate of sexual misconduct allegations rocked the Malayalam film industry after the public release of the Justice K Hema Committee report in August. The report revealed large-scale sexual abuse and gender discrimination in the film industry.

During the hearing, the top court asked the complainant why it took eight years to lodge the complaint against Siddique.