Bailable warrant issued against Kangana in defamation complaint by lyricist Javed Akhtar

A Mumbai court on Monday issued a bailable warrant against actor Kangana Ranaut in the criminal defamation case filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar. The warrant was issued by Andheri metropolitan magistrate after the actor failed to appear in court despite being summoned, reported LiveLaw. Akhtar, in his complaint, had alleged that Ranaut had made defamatory comments against him in an interview, by dragging his name while referring to a "coterie" existing in Bollywood, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020.

Javed Akhtar’s counsel told the court that she was aware of the proceedings against her but had not responded to the summons issued against her.

Adv Vrinda Grover @vrindagrover cited this tweet by Kangana in Court to say that she has knowledge about the case. Following this, the Court issued bailable warrant against her for appearance.https://t.co/FDNotvdDVV pic.twitter.com/2yJTSVK6q6

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) March 1, 2021

The court in December 2020 had directed the Juhu police here to conduct an inquiry into the complaint of defamation filed by Akhtar against Ranaut before the court in November last year. Javed Akhtar’s lawyer had told the court that the police had in November 2020 issued summons to Ranaut, asking her to remain present before the police for recording her statement but the actor had not responded to the same.

In the complaint filed against Kangana, Javed Akhtar had alleged that she “needlessly dragged his name in an unconnected sensitive matter,” over the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and added that he was allegedly called a “vulture,” which caused damage to his reputation. Javed also alleged in the complaint that Kangana falsely claimed that he threatened her to keep silent about her alleged relationship with actor Hrithik Roshan. Javed had complained that many media outlets had carried the Kangana’s alleged remarks against him and that it adversely impacted his image in the public eye.

As per reports, the actor made the alleged remarks in an interview with Arnab Goswami on his show titled ‘Kangana Ranaut With Arnab Goswami On Nation Wants to Know.’