04-11-2020

Bollywood veteran Javed Akhtar submitted a complaint before the Andheri magistrate court on Tuesday against actor Kangana Ranaut alleging she had made defamatory statements against him to news channels.

The video of the actor allegedly making the disparaging remarks in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput�s death had gone viral. The plea is scheduled to be heard on December 3.

The complaint, accusing Ranaut of harming Akhtar�s reputation, was submitted citing Indian Penal Code sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation). Under Section 500, whoever is found guilty of defaming another person is liable to be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or both.

Two other complaints have also been filed against Ranaut in the Andheri magistrate court for allegedly making communally charged statements. Last week, the court directed the police to conduct an inquiry after a lawyer, Ali Kaashif Deshmukh, submitted a private complaint alleging Ranaut and her sister, Rangoli Chandel, had posted defamatory and hateful statements against the Muslim community.

The same lawyer also submitted a complaint on October 22 against Kangana for allegedly making statements that incited communal disharmony, mocked the judiciary, disrespected the state government and tarnished Mumbai�s reputation by calling it �Pakistan Occupied Kashmir�.