Javed Akhtar Files Defamation Case Against Kangana Ranaut

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has filed a criminal defamation complaint against actor Kangana Ranaut over remarks she made against him in news interviews. He claims Ranaut's comments, made in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's deaths, have affected his longstanding reputation. The complaint has been filed before the Metropolitan Magistrate at Andheri, Mumbai. Ranaut hasn't responded to the news on social media yet.

According to the news reported by Live Law today, November 3, Ranaut had reportedly mentioned Akhtar's name during her appearances on news channels discussing Rajput's death.

Akhtar takes objection to remarks made by Kangana in an interview to Republic TV @republic.
He says that the video interview given by Ranaut has garnered views in lakhs affecting his reputation.

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 3, 2020

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai home on June 14 this year, prompting a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Narcotics Control Bureau into his death.

Kangana Ranaut Sued For Defamation

According to India Today, Akhtar has asked for a case to be registered under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. His lawyer, Niranjan Mundargi, has refused to impart further details of the complaint at the moment. The first hearing of the case is scheduled for December 3, 2020.

Kangana Ranaut, on news interviews as well as her Twitter account, has made multiple allegations against Bollywood, including Akhtar and his wife Shabana Azmi. In an earlier interview with media outlet Mumbai Mirror, Azmi had reacted to Ranaut's public comments, saying, "Kangana has started believing in her own myth. She says she taught feminism to the film industry, she taught it nationalism... I think she fears the day when she will no longer be in the headlines and so has to keep making outrageous statements to stay in the news. Poor girl, why doesn’t she just do what she is best at, which is acting."

Other Cases Against Ranaut

Earlier today, Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel, were issued summons by the Mumbai Police for interrogation on November 10. An FIR registered against the sisters, who are currently in Himachal Pradesh, claimed they posted offensive tweets and were spreading communal hate on social media.

Ranaut, who is in the midst of a spat with the Maharashtra government, had earlier reacted to these complaints against her by saying, "I worship people like Savarkar, Neta Bose and Rani of Jhansi. Today the government trying to put me in jail that makes me feel confident of my choices, waiting to be in jail soon n go through same miseries my idols were subjected to, it will give a meaning to my life, Jai Hind."