A metropolitan magistrate court on Saturday directed the police to conduct a probe into the criminal complaint filed by lyricist Javed Akhtar against alleged defamatory statements made by actor Kangana Ranaut about him.
Advocate Niranjan Mundargi, appearing for Mr. Akhtar, told The Hindu that he argued in court that an interview by Ms. Ranaut has defamatory statements against him linking him with the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The interview was conducted on July 19 and was telecast the next day which was seen by more than 6 million viewers.
The criminal complaint was filed on November 3 before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate under Section 200 (examination of complainant) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In his complaint, Mr. Akhtar has alleged that Ms. Ranaut dragged his name while referring to a “coterie” existing in Bollywood following Rajput’s death in June this year. She had also claimed that Mr. Akhtar had threatened her to not speak about her alleged relationship with actor Hrithik Roshan, the complaint said.
Mr. Akhtar filed the complaint under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. The application mentions the interview given by the actor to a channel.
The Andheri magistrate court directed the Juhu Police to investigate the matter and submit a report on January 16, the next date for hearing. Mr. Akhtar was also present in the court during the proceedings on Saturday.
(With PTI inputs)
