On September 9, the Bombay HC dismissed Kangana Ranaut’s plea to scrap the defamation case proceedings that were filed by Javed Akhtar. The lyricist and screenplay writer had accused the Thalaivii actress of damaging his reputation. Mr. Akhtar’s allegations against Ranaut came in 2020 in the backdrop of the infamous aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
The court’s dismissal in favour of Akhtar comes just a day after an FIR was filed against him for comparing Hindu rights group RSS to Taliban.
Details
The death of Sushant Singh Rajput was a monumental incident that shook the nation to its core. The ripple effect of the death was such that his death led to a lot of debate. This included conversations about nepotism, mental health issues and more. Incidentally, it also gave some celebrities, the wide spread prime-time coverage that they craved for. Outspoken actress Kangana Ranaut was one such celebrity.
After his death, Ranaut spoke about myriad of issues including nepotism, injustice of entertainment industry towards outsiders, and more. In process of speaking about the issues she believed in, she attacked entities, organizations and individuals.
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The Facts of the Matter
Javed Akhtar was on the receiving end of a verbal attack launched by Ranaut during the 2020 Sushant Singh Rajput death aftermath. Akhtar had then filed a complaint, accusing Ranaut of making defamatory statements on national television against him, “in what appears to be a clear campaign to malign and tarnish in the eyes of the general public”.
Bombay HC Dismisses Kangana’s Plea
After months of back and forth, he-said-she-said, and hearings where Kangana didn’t appear in the court, the Bombay High Court came to a conclusion. On Thursday, the Bombay High Court dismissed a plea Ranaut had filed which sought the quashing of entire defamation proceedings that transpired so far.
What Happened in the Court?
Reportedly, Advocate Rizwan Siddique, Kangana’s representation in the court argued that the Mumbai Police didn’t conduct an impartial inquiry for the case. To this, Advocate Jay Bhardwaj, appearing for Akhtar, claimed that the Magistrate had used his own wisdom to have directed an inquiry.
The decision to order an inquiry was taken after the Magistrate had gone through the complaint and the excerpts of Kangana’s statements from the interview.
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“Sole Purpose of Plea is to Delay Trial”
Further, Advocate Bhardwaj also claimed that as Kangana had not appeared before the police to give her side of the story, she can’t possibly claim that the police indulged in biased inquiry. He further added that the sole purpose of the plea seeking the scrapping of proceedings is to delay the trial.
The matter will now be heard on September 14.
Kangana Ranaut VS Javed Akhtar: A Recap
Earlier in July, the Magistrate gave Ranaut one ‘last chance’ after she failed to appear in the defamation case filed by Akhtar. Further, the Magistrate also asked the actress’ advocate to make sure she shows up on the next date of hearing. If she would fail to do so, the Magistrate stated, Akhtar will be eligible to file a warrant against her.
The matter goes back to November 2020 when Javed Akhtar filed a complaint against Kangana under Section 499 (Defamation), Section 500 (Punishment for defamation), of the IPC. Later in February 2021, After Akhtar’s statement was recorded, a police inquiry was ordered under Section 202 of the CrPc.