Kangana Ranaut-Javed Akhtar Case: Bombay High Court Dismisses Emergency Actress’ Plea

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court dismissed Bollywood actress and director Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking a stay on the proceedings of a defamation complaint against her by Hindi cinema lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar.

The HC bench observed that the stay sought by Kangana Ranaut could not be granted, as the trial in the Akhtar complaint case had commenced.

In January 2024, Kangana Ranaut had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on Javed Akhtar's criminal defamation complaint.

Akhtar had filed the defamation suit in 2020, and Kangana in turn had filed a cross-complaint against the writer.

"The trial in the complaint by Akhtar has already commenced. The applicant (Kangana Ranaut) has preferred this application at a belated stage. (Javed) Akhtar's complaint is first in point of time and process (notice) has been issued. Considering the factual matrix, no relief can be granted," the court observed.

The defamation case against Ranaut is being heard before the magistrate in Andheri in north Mumbai. However, the sessions court stayed the ‘Emergency’ actress’ complaint against the ‘Sholay’ writer.

Kangana Ranaut had requested for both the cases to be heard together. 

Javed Akhtar opposed Kangana’s petition and said that she has sought a stay on the proceedings to delay it.

Akhtar claimed that Ranaut had tried to defame and damage his "immaculate reputation" when she named him in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death in an interview with a news channel in July 2020.

Sushant Singh Rajput died in June 2020 under mysterious circumstances.

Kangana Ranaut in 2021 filed a counter-complaint for criminal intimidation and insult to modesty against Javed Akhtar before a magistrate's court. She cited a 2016 meeting with the writer at his residence in Mumbai, where he allegedly tried to intimidate her into apologising to a co-star.

With inputs from PTI.