MumbaiNoted screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar filed a petition in a court here on Monday in a criminal defamation case against actress Kangana Ranaut. Requested to issue a Non-Bailable Warrant. The application, filed by Akhtar’s lawyer Jai Bhardwaj, referred to Ranaut’s request to seek exemption for one reason or the other since March this year.
Ranaut last appeared before Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan on September 20. “It can be clearly understood from the conduct of the accused that from the time of issue of process by this court (Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court) he has deliberately failed to delay the matter by causing excessive delay in the matter,” the application said. There has been an attempt to completely derail the proceedings and create untold hardships before the complainant.”
read also
The court has directed Kangana’s lawyer to file her reply on the application on January 4, the next date of hearing. The court also directed Kangana’s lawyer to ensure the presence of the actress at the next hearing. Earlier, a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had dismissed Ranaut’s plea regarding transfer of the criminal defamation case. Akhtar (76) had filed a complaint in the Andheri court in November 2020, claiming that Ranaut had made derogatory statements against him in a television interview.
Akhtar claimed that the actress had dragged his name while referring to a “faction” existing in Bollywood after the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June last year.