Mumbai Court directs Kangana Ranaut to file reply to Javed Akhtar's plea challenging summons to him

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• Aug 9, 2023 | Dhupali Das

A sessions court in Mumbai has directed Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut to submit a...

Digital Desk: In a significant development, a sessions court in Mumbai has directed Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut to submit a reply to an application filed by renowned poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar. Akhtar's application challenges the summons he received from a magistrate's court in a case brought against him by Ranaut. The case revolves around allegations of criminal intimidation.

Presided over by Additional Sessions Judge AZ Khan at the Dindoshi court, the proceedings took place on Tuesday. The judge issued a formal notice to Ranaut, seeking her response, and adjourned the case until August 24 for further deliberation.

Javed Akhtar took the initiative to move a revision petition before the sessions court, asserting that the summons issued to him by the metropolitan magistrate's court in suburban Andheri was hasty and inappropriate. He argued that such swift action led to a "grave miscarriage of justice."

Akhtar's legal representatives, led by advocate Jay Bharadwaj, contended that the magistrate's decision was based on unsubstantiated claims present in the complaint, without proper scrutiny of the comprehensive factual context and judicial records. The plea further underlined that the magistrate failed to acknowledge the potential prejudice that Akhtar could face if compelled to undergo a trial in a time-barred case, especially where the alleged sections in the complaint are inapplicable.

The roots of this legal dispute stretch back to 2020 when the 76-year-old lyricist filed a complaint against Kangana Ranaut, asserting that she had made defamatory statements about him during a television interview. The statements, he claimed, had adversely affected his reputation. Ranaut had referred to a supposed 'coterie' within Bollywood while discussing the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's tragic demise in June 2020.

Reacting to Akhtar's claims, the 36-year-old actress lodged a counter-complaint against him in the same court. She alleged "extortion and criminal intimidation" on Akhtar's part. Ranaut's counter-complaint alleged that Akhtar had invited her and her sister to his residence with ill intentions and subsequently subjected them to criminal intimidation and threats.

Metropolitan Magistrate RM Shaikh, presiding over the Andheri court, had issued summons to Javed Akhtar on July 24, requesting his presence in court on August 5. While the court dismissed the extortion charges against the veteran Bollywood figure, it found sufficient grounds to continue proceedings against him for criminal intimidation.

As the legal battle continues to unfold, industry watchers and legal experts are keeping a close eye on the case, which raises intricate questions about the intersections of free speech, defamation, and alleged criminal actions within the entertainment world. The forthcoming response from Kangana Ranaut to Javed Akhtar's application is expected to shed light on the next steps of this ongoing legal saga.