Salman Khan's interim plea rejected in defamation case; court tells 'evidence justifies allegations'

New Delhi, Mar 31: Salman Khan's plea seeking an interim order in a defamation suit against his NRI neighbour Ketan Kakkar has been rejected by the Mumbai sessions court on Thursday.

Sessions Court Judge AH Laddhad, who pronounced the order on March 23, rejected his plea stating that Kakkar had placed on record evidence like complaints and show-cause notices to Salman about the allegations of encroachments by the actor in his Panvel property, the 100-acres Farm, in the public interest as a "whistle-blower".

The detailed order came out on Wednesday.

The Bollywood superstar filed a civil suit alleging that Ketan Kakkad defamed him during an interview with a YouTube channel.

Khan, who lives in suburban Bandra in Mumbai, owns a farmhouse in Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district. Kakkad, also a Mumbai resident, owns a plot on a hill next to Khan's farmhouse.

According to Khan's suit, Kakkad made slanderous comments against the actor while speaking to a YouTuber. Two other people who participated in the show have also been named as respondents.

The Bollywood superstar has also made YouTube, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and search engine giant Google parties to the suit, demanding that they be directed to block and remove the defamatory content' from their websites. Khan wants a permanent order restraining Kakkad from posting or publishing defamatory content about the actor or his farmhouse.

Speaking with news agency ANI, Ketan Kakkar's Advocate Aditya Pratap Singh said that his client is an NRI and had purchased a piece of land in Panvel near Salman Khan's farmhouse.

"He (Salman) tried to snatch that land by several means using his contacts in police and officials etc. When my client tried to put his views about the factual position of the case Salman Khan approached Mumbai City Civil and Sessions court seeking an injunction against my client but the court has rejected his application and has prima facie held that whatever allegations my client has made against him are based on evidence," Singh said.

Kakkar had uploaded videos on social media sites and YouTube in which he claimed about purchasing the land in 1995 for constructing a house, ashram and temple. It was cancelled by the Forest Department following his dispute with Salman Khan.

In the videos, Kakkar stated that he had constructed an eco-friendly Ganesh temple but it was grabbed by Khan's family.