Lyricist Javed Akhtar appears before court

He has filed a criminal complaint against actor Kangana Ranaut for making defamatory statements against him

Well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar appeared before a magistrate court on Thursday in a criminal complaint filed by him against actor Kangana Ranaut for making defamatory statements against him.

In November 2020, Mr. Akhtar filed a complaint before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate as per Section 200 (examination of complainant) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The application mentions an interview given by the actor to a TV channel in which she made defamatory statements against him.

On Thursday, the matter was not heard as the magistrate was absent. Outside the court, Mr. Akhtar told reporters, “ Main koshish karta hun ki har baar aoon (I try to come every time). Jo shuru kiya hai, use khatam toh karna hi hai (we have to end what we started).”

On July 19, 2020, Ms. Ranaut had given an interview on national television in which she made defamatory statements against Mr Akhtar by linking him with the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Mr. Akhtar then filed the complaint under Section 499 (defamation) and Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code against her.

Previously, the Juhu Police station probing the case had told the court that the offences alleged by Mr. Akhtar were being made against Ms. Ranaut and required further investigation. A copy of the report was submitted to the court along with a video clip of the interview. The court was informed that despite summons being issued to Ms. Ranaut by the Juhu Police Station, she had not appeared before it.