Bombay High Court dismisses Kangana Ranaut’s plea to quash defamation case by Javed Akhtar

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by actor Kangana Ranaut to quash the defamation proceedings initiated against her on a complaint by lyricist Javed Akhtar, reported Live Law. The High Court had reserved its order in Ranaut’s plea on September 1.

Akhtar had filed the defamation case against Ranaut in November for the remarks she made about him during a TV interview while speaking on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

Ranaut had reportedly told Republic TV’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami that Akhtar was part of a “suicide gang” and that “he can get away with pretty much anything in Mumbai”.

Akhtar had accused Ranaut of causing “irreparable damage” to his reputation. “Each and every allegation and imputation made in the said interview is false, defamatory, malicious, and has been made with reckless disregard to the truth,” he had said in his complaint.

In December, the Andheri metropolitan magistrate’s court had directed the police to investigate Akhtar’s complaint against Ranaut.

Ranaut moved a sessions court against the order issued by the Andheri magistrate asking her to appear before it in connection with the defamation case. The session’s court had dismissed her plea to quash the magistrate court’s order.

On March 1, the magistrate’s court issued a bailable warrant against Ranaut after she failed to appear before it…

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