Kangana Ranaut had asked Bombay High Court to quash defamation proceedings against her. (File)
Actor Kangana Ranaut will have to appear before the Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Andheri on September 14 in connection with the defamation case filed against her by poet and lyricist and former Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar.
Meanwhile, on September 9 the Bombay High Court will pronounce orders in Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking quashing of defamation proceedings initiated against her on Javed Akhtar's complaint.
Kangana Ranaut had appealed to the Bombay High Court seeking to quash defamation proceedings. The court heard her lawyer's arguments today.
Ms Ranaut, through her counsel Rizwan Siddiquee, had challenged the defamation proceedings initiated earlier this year, saying the magistrate's court in suburban Andheri had failed to apply its mind to the case.
Ms Ranaut said in her plea that the lower court did not independently examine the complainant or witnesses named in the complaint against her, but it instead relied merely upon the discretion of the Juhu police and initiated the case against her.
The Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Andheri had warned at a previous hearing that if the actor is not present in court on the next hearing, which was today, a warrant will be issued against her. However because of the hearing in the Bombay High Court today, the court agreed to push that date to September 14.
Javed Akhtar had filed a criminal complaint against Kangana Ranaut in November last year before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate alleging that she made defamatory and baseless comments against him in a television interview and dragged his name into the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
In December 2020, the court directed the Juhu police to conduct an inquiry into Mr Akhtar's complaint. The police informed the court that an offence of defamation, as alleged by Mr Akhtar against the actor, was prima facie made out, and further probe was required.
The court then initiated criminal proceedings against Ms Ranaut and issued summons to her in February this year.
Advocate Priyadarshini Arora, who appeared on behalf of Javed Akhtar in the Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, said, "The matter was kept in the high court today. After 12:30 pm, when we started arguments it went on till 1:30 pm and could not be completed so the high court kept it at 2:30 pm after which we have taken a date on September 14 for her appearance."
"If she doesn't come, there will be an NBW (non-bailable warrant) as per the order on the last date. Because the matter was in the High Court, we could not have taken an ex-parte order," she said.