Mumbai court refuses interim relief to Salman Khan over defamation suit against his Panvel neighbour

He had also sought orders for removal and disabling access to presently available and purportedly defamatory content during pendency of the suit

Mumbai: The Bombay City Civil Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim relief to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who has filed defamation suit against his Panvel farmhouse neighbour Ketan Kakkad and others. Additional sessions judge Anil H Laddhad rejected the notice of motion filed by the actor in his suit, seeking injunction against Kakkad and others, restraining them from making any derogatory comments or post any interviews on social media platforms about the actor or the activities at his farm house in Panvel.

Kakkad’s adovocate said he had not been able to rightfully access his lands since 2014 -- when he permanently returned from the United States of America and settled in India -- due to the obstruction caused by Salman Khan and his family. (PTI)

He had also sought orders for removal and disabling access to presently available and purportedly defamatory content during pendency of the suit. Salman had filed a defamation suit through advocate Pradeep Gandhy in the first week of January against Kakkad claiming that he had made several defamatory statements and remarks against the actor and his family in his Facebook live interview which was conducted and hosted by Sandeep Phogat and later uploaded on the YouTube channel “Phogat Film.”

Two others who participated in the interview were also made parties in the suit. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google were also made parties to the said suit. In his plea for interim injunction, the actor said that the allegations levelled against him in relation to his Panvel farmhouse were baseless, false and unsubstantiated and were defamatory / derogatory in nature.

Kakkad is agitated and is unnecessarily blaming and raising false accusations against the actor to defame him and gain cheap media publicity, it added.

Advocate Abha Singh and Aditya Pratap Singh, who represented Kakkad had, however, claimed that a defamation suit was filed to pressurise Kakkad to give up the fight for his land. This is a land issue and there have been disputes relating to the land between the two neighbours and the actor has not come up with clean hands and hence, the suit should be dismissed. They added that Kakkad had not been able to rightfully access his lands since 2014 -- when he permanently returned from the United States of America and settled in India -- due to the obstruction caused by Salman Khan and his family.

They maintained that Kakkad had made some statements in public interest for protection of the environment, which is part of fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. He alleged that the actor and family had carried out illegal construction on the Arpita Farms which is prohibited by law.