Kangana Ranaut’s plea seeking stay on trial in defamation complaint only to delay proceedings: Javed Akhtar to HC

Akhtar had filed the defamation complaint against Ranaut in 2020.

He 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 had also 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 Akhtar 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. Aggrieved by it, Ranaut approached the HC earlier this month, seeking stay on the proceedings in trial in connection with Akhtar’s defamation complaint.

The actor claimed that both the cases arose from the same incident and, therefore, trials were required to be conducted together to avoid conflicting verdicts. She 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”.

In an affidavit filed through advocate Jay Bharadwaj, Akhtar stated, “Ranaut is not challenging any judicial order passed by a court but has based the entire writ petition on assumptions and presumptions coupled with an unwarranted optimism of the proceedings pending in courts below.” The lyricist contended that prayers in Ranaut’s plea were ‘vague and untenable’ and sought dismissal of the plea.