The Mumbai Sessions Court at Dindoshi on August 8 has declined to grant an immediate interim stay on the proceedings in the case filed by actor Kangana Ranaut against Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar. The court observed that it will hear arguments from both sides on merits of the case before taking a decision on the stay.
Actress Kangana Ranaut submitted a plea to an Andheri Magistrate Court in Mumbai, seeking a bailable warrant against lyricist Javed Akhtar, in a case of criminal intimidation. According to reports, she is seeking the warrant for allegedly ‘intentionally’ failing and neglecting to appear before the court on August 5. His lawyer Jay Bharadwaj, submitted an exemption plea citing an ‘urgent medical situation’ of an extended family member who was in need of his presence, thus requesting to exempt his absence at the hearing.
Earlier, a magistrate court in Mumbai stated in its thorough order summoning lyricist Javed Akhtar in response to a complaint made by star Kangana Ranaut that there were adequate grounds to move further with charges against him, including criminal intimidation. The judge stated that there was no evidence to support any extortion allegations.
Akhtar was given a summons by the metropolitan magistrate’s court on July 24 to appear before it the following month. According to the court’s detailed order, which was made available, there are enough grounds to proceed against Akhtar for violating sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (Word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code based on the complaint, Akhtar’s complaint being verified, and Rangoli Chandel’s statement.
“…the complainant (Ranaut) even though levelled charges for offences punishable under section 383, 384 and 387 of IPC for committing extortion and putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion, it appears that, no case is made out against the accused for the aforesaid offences…” the court said.
Ranaut said in her complaint, submitted through her attorney Rizwan Siddiqui, that Akhtar had summoned her and her sister to his residence in Juhu in March of 2016 while they were embroiled in a personal disagreement with a fellow actor. Although Akhtar was not involved in the dispute, the complaint claimed that he called them and “criminally intimidated and threatened” them into giving the co-actor a written apology in order to help himself. According to the complaint, Akhtar made unjustified and uncalled-for comments on her moral character and was also accused of extortion.
The court had examined the complainant and had also written down Chandel’s testimony, on the basis of which Akhtar had been called.
Ranaut’s allegation came after Akhtar accused her of defaming him in a televised interview in 2020 and filed a case against her in 2021. Ranaut is still facing legal action in this instance.
Further, Javed Akhtar filed revision plea against summons on Kangana Ranaut complaint. In the petition filed, Akhtar had said that Ranaut’s complaint was filed after he approached the court alleging defamation against her for a television interview she gave in 2020 after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The plea by Akhtar further states that Ranaut made attempts to delay the proceedings and the complaint was filed against him only as a “counter-blast”. It also seeks a stay on the proceedings before the magistrate complaint till the revision petition is decided by the sessions court and also seeks setting aside of the magistrate court order.