Lost deals because of her: Actor Nora Fatehi sues Jacqueline Fernandes

The defamatory statement was made by Fernandez in "bad faith" and with "mala fide intention" and was circulated by the media houses made accused in the complaint with an intent to defame me, said Nora Fatehi.

New Delhi, Dec 12: Actor Nora Fatehi on Monday filed a defamation suit of Rs 200 crore against fellow actor Jacqueline Fernandes alleging that Fernandes made false statements with malicious intent.

The actor claimed that her rival actor and the media organisations "were acting in connivance with each other".

"A conspiracy by the accused No. 1 (Jacqueline Fernandez) to ensure the financial, social, and personal downfall of the complainant was hatched, and enacted by the said action," she has said in the petition filed through her lawyer. "The complainant has a pristine reputation apart from a rapidly progressing career which has quite obviously threatened her rivals who are unable to compete with her on fair footing," the petition stated.

"It has started to become evident that the aforementioned rivals being unable to compete with the complainant fairly in the industry have started to try and tarnish her reputation which would cause her loss of work and hence would open up greener pastures for her rivals in the industry," it added.

The defamatory statement was made by Fernandez in "bad faith" and with "mala fide intention" and was circulated by the media houses made accused in the complaint with an intent to defame her, the counsel said.

The complaint claimed the allegations made by Fernandez, also a Bollywood actor, that Fatehi had received gifts from Chandrashekhar were wrong.

"The only time the complainant spoke to Chandrashekhar was when his wife, Leena Maria Paul, made her speak to him over speakerphone at the event in Chennai where the complainant was invited by Leena.

At the event, the complainant was gifted an iPhone and a Gucci bag by Leena. No gifts were ever received by the complainant from Chandrashekhar," Fatehi has said in the complaint. Fatehi also denied she had received a luxury car from Chandrashekhar and said it was part payment to her brother-in-law Bobby Khan, who Chandrashekhar had approached for directing a movie.

"Since the complainant had never even spoken to Chandrashekhar let alone having met him, hence the imputation made by the Fernandez and the subsequent publishing of the same by the accused media houses are untrue," the complaint said.

The court had on November 15 granted regular bail to Fernandez, who has never been arrested in the case.

Fernandez, who was summoned by the ED several times in connection with the investigation, has been named as an accused in the supplementary charge sheet.