Bombay HC reserves verdict in Kangana Ranaut’s plea seeking stay on trial in Javed Akhtar defamation complaint

Seeking dismissal of Ranaut’s plea, Javed Akhtar responded that the actor’s petition was only to delay the said proceedings.

Akhtar had filed the defamation complaint against Ranaut in 2020. He had alleged that Ranaut made defamatory statements on national and international television, “in what appears to be a clear campaign to malign and tarnish (Akhtar) in the eyes of the general public”. Akhtar had referred to an interview given by Ranaut after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Ranaut then filed a cross-complaint against Akhtar alleging extortion and outraging modesty by invading her privacy.

In July 2023, a magistrate court in Andheri dropped the extortion charge against Akhtar, but summoned him to appear in connection with offences of criminal intimidation and harassment, against which the lyricist filed a revision plea before the Sessions Court in Dindoshi. The Sessions Court then stayed the summons order and criminal proceedings in connection with Ranaut’s complaint.

After that, Ranaut approached the Bombay High Court earlier this month, seeking a stay on the proceedings in the trial in connection with Akhtar’s defamation complaint. She claimed both cases arose from the same incident and, therefore, trials were required to be conducted together to avoid conflicting verdicts.

Kangana Ranaut argued that while the proceedings in connection with her complaint have been stayed, the same arising from Akhtar’s complaint cannot continue and staying them till the revision application is disposed of by Sessions court is “in the interest of justice”.