Actress Kangana Ranaut on Thursday appeared before an Andheri magistrate court in the defamation complaint filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar after a bailable warrant was issued against her by the court early this month. The court then cancelled the bailable warrant it had issued against her since she appeared before it.
The police were to report to the court regarding the warrant on Friday. The warrant had been issued against her by the court after she did not remain present before it despite being summoned in February to be present on 1 March. The court in its order on 1 March while issuing the warrant had said her absence “shows her conduct”. It had also noted that no exemption plea had been filed by her for her absence.
Appearing for Kangana, her advocate Rizwan Siddiquee had argued that day, that he would be challenging the entire proceeding as witnesses mentioned in Akhtar’s complaint had not been verified on oath.
Regarding this, the court had said that no doubt, the accused has every right to challenge the order of this court before the Sessions Court and High Court, but the question arises whether the intent to challenge it before a higher forum will result in automatic stay on the proceeding. “The answer is certainly in the negative. Though the accused is going to challenge the entire proceeding before Hon’ble High Court...however in absence of any orders from higher courts, her remaining absent despite receipt of summons shows her conduct,” the magistrate had said.
In his complaint filed in November last year, Akhtar had stated that Kangana had made comments in an interview to Republic TV on 20 July, 2020 wherein she had called him part of a certain “gang” in the context of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case. Akhtar complained about the social media trolling he faced as a result of her allegations in the interview.
