Kangana Ranaut to be Arrested if She Doesn’t Appear For Next Hearing in The Javed Akhtar Defamation Case

Javed Akhtar vs Kangana Ranaut defamation case: Kangana has been absent from the past eight hearings while Javed has attended most of them, argued his lawyer. The court said that an arrest warrant will be issued against her if she fails to attend the next hearig. Read on.

Published: September 15, 2021 12:00 PM IST

By India.com Entertainment Desk | Edited by Vineeta Kumar

Kangana Ranaut Accuses Javed Akhtar of Extortion, Invasion Of Privacy In Fresh Complaint
Kangana Ranaut Accuses Javed Akhtar of Extortion, Invasion Of Privacy In Fresh Complaint

Javed Akhtar vs Kangana Ranaut defamation case update: Actor Kangana Ranaut could be sent an arrest warrant from the court if she fails to be present during the next hearing in the defamation case filed by lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar. A report in Indian Express mentioned that Kangana has not been present in the last eight hearings and in the previous hearing, Akhtar’s lawyer Jay Bhanushali sought a warrant against her.

On Tuesday, a metropolitan magistrate’s court granted exemption from appearance to Kangana and clearly stated that it would issue an arrest warrant if she remains absent the next time. However, the actor’s lawyer, Rizwan Siddiqui, told the court that Kangana has been showing ‘COVID-like’ symptoms due to which she has been advised to rest. He said that they are due to conduct a COVID test on Kangana and the reports will be submitted in the court if it turns out to be positive. “She has been travelling continuously to promote her film and meeting a lot of people. She is ill probably because of that. She has to undergo a Covid-19 test. I am seeking a short date,” Siddiqui told the court.

Akhtar’s lawyer, who was present along with the poet’s wife Shabana Azmi, argued in the court that Ranaut has been delaying the court’s proceedings and showing disrespect for the judicial proceedings by not taking the case seriously. He said that different reasons have been mentioned in the court for her non-appearance including a shoot in Budapest (where she has been shooting for her film Dhaakad), and promotions of films (Thalaivii). He said, “It is an orchestrated motive to delay the case and no respect has been shown to the judicial proceeding.”

Bhanushali added that, unlike Ranaut, Akhtar has been ‘diligently’ following the proceedings and has remained present for most of the hearings. Siddiqui then argued that out of all the hearings, “3-4 were dates when the court itself was not functioning”, and that the actor was “genuinely suffering” on the other days. He added that the case can be heard in her absence too.

Kangana Ranaut’s lawyer has now told the court that she would be present for the next hearing unless she has contracted the coronavirus in which case he will inform the court with another plea. The next hearing is scheduled for September 20.

All about Javed Akhtar vs Kangana Ranaut defamation case

On November 2, 2020, Javed Akhtar filed a defamation case against Kangana Ranaut in Andheri Magistrate Court accusing her of tarnishing his image with her various interviews and posts in the media. He mentioned her statement made in an interview with a senior journalist after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death had her making ‘baseless allegations’ against him.

The interview that Akhtar referred to had Kangana saying that he asked her to apologise to Hrithik Roshan, who in 2016 filed a lawsuit against her seeking an apology for damaging his reputation by making the infamous ‘silly ex’ statement.

Kangana had told Republic in an interview: “Once Javed Akhtar had called me to his house and told me that Rakesh Roshan and his family are very big people. If you don’t apologise to them, you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction… you will commit suicide. These were his words. He shouted and yelled at me. I was shaking in his house.”

The case was filed against Kangana by Akhtar under section 499 (defamation) and section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

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