Javed Akhtar defamation case: Bombay HC dismisses Kangana Ranaut's plea

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed actor Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking quashing of defamation proceedings initiated against her following lyricist Javed Akhtar's complaint.

Mumbai, Sep 9: The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed actor Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking quashing of defamation proceedings initiated against her following lyricist Javed Akhtar's complaint.

As per the PTI, the Bombay High Court dismissed Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking to quash the defamation proceeding initiated against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar for damaging his reputation by dragging his name in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.

Justice Revati Mohite Dere, who had on September 1 reserved her order on the plea, said the applicant's (Ranaut''s) petition "stands dismissed".

Ranaut, through her counsel Rizwan Siddiquee, had challenged the defamation proceedings that were initiated by the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate's court earlier this year, saying that the court had failed to apply its mind to the case.

Akhtar's counsel Jay Bharadwaj, however, told the high court that the magistrate had directed for the police inquiry after going through the lyricist's complaint and excerpts of Ranaut's interview, in which she had made the alleged defamatory comments.

Akhtar had filed the criminal complaint against Ranaut in November last year before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate for allegedly making defamatory and baseless comments against him in a television interview given to journalist Arnab Goswami.

In December 2020, the court directed the Juhu police to conduct an inquiry into Akhtar's complaint against Ranaut and then initiated criminal proceedings against her and issued summons to her in February this year.

What Kangana Ranaut had Alleged?
Speaking with Arnab Goswami, the actress told Republic TV that the lyricist had threatened her over the controversy surrounding Hrithik Roshan. "Javed Akhtar called me to his house, he said if you do not say sorry to Hrithik Roshan you will commit suicide because they will put you in jail. They have found all the clues, all the evidence. They know the case is completely in their hands."

However, Javed Akhtar had a different version to say. According to him, he tried to pacify her and asked her to sort out the issues with Hrithik Roshan.

"I tried to advise and pacify her to settle issues with Hrithik. However, she did not listen to me and told me that she would take the issue as per her choice and she would show him. As she was not in a mood to listen to me, I changed the topics and shared pleasantries with her, offered some tea or coffee to her, and saw her off till the lift," he was quoted as saying in an interview.