Kangana’s petition just a tactic to delay the defamation case: Javed Akhtar to HC

Lyricist Javed Akhtar has accused Kangana Ranaut of using her petition to delay their defamation case.

Kangana Ranaut’s petition is solely aimed at delaying the defamation case, lyricist Javed Akhtar said in his response to the actress filing a petition before the Bombay high court seeking a stay on the proceedings.

Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut. (File)

During the recent hearing before justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Manjusha A Deshpande, the court directed its registry to ascertain whether the case should be heard by a single-judge bench or a division bench.

Ranaut approached the metropolitan magistrate court in Andheri to halt the defamation proceedings initiated by Akhtar based on comments she made against him during a July 2020 interview on Republic TV after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise.

Akhtar filed a complaint in November 2020, leading to a notice issued against her in February 2021. Subsequently, she challenged the summons initially in the Sessions Court, then moved to challenge the entire proceedings before the high court, which were both dismissed. Later, her special leave petition to the Supreme Court was dismissed due to office objections.

Ranaut then filed a counter-complaint before the Andheri court against Akhtar, alleging extortion and invasion of her privacy.

In July 2023, the magistrate court dropped the extortion charge against Akhtar but summoned him for criminal intimidation and harassment offences. Akhtar filed a revision plea before the Sessions Court in Dindoshi, leading to the stay of the summons and criminal proceedings against him, which prompted Ranaut to file the petition before the high court.

In her petition, Ranaut has contended that since both cases stem from the same incident, the trials should be conducted together to prevent any conflicts.

In response, through advocate Jay Bhardwaj, Akhtar has filed an affidavit, labelling Ranaut’s petition as a mere ‘delay tactic.’ He highlighted Ranaut’s numerous unsuccessful challenges and petitions in various courts aimed at delaying the proceedings.

“Ranaut is not contesting any court order but has based the entire writ petition on assumptions and presumptions combined with an unwarranted optimism of the proceedings pending in courts below,” the lyricist stated in his affidavit and urged the court to dismiss her petition on account of the vague and untenable nature of her claims.