Salman Khan was targeted, says lawyer in defamation case against Panvel farmhouse neighbour
India Today
Additional Sessions Judge Anil H Laddha of Mumbai Court intends to conclude hearing of the defamation case filed by Salman Khan against his neighbour Ketan Kakkad on January 28.
For the last two days, Salman Khan's lawyer Pradeep Gandhy has been arguing his defamation case against Ketan Kakkad and it finally concluded today. While arguing on January 21, Gandhy pointed to hundreds of social media posts by Kakkad in which abusive languages were used. Even the Prime Minister and the Home Minister would be tagged while making defamatory tweets.
Gandhy pointed to a certain tweet and said, "Kakkad had used abusive language and that is why his social media account was suspended briefly. He is a habitual offender." He added that through the use of innuendos, Kakkad had been targeting the actor and made various baseless allegations which were not even within the realm of the property dispute between the two.
Gandhy further stated, "We reported to all social media channels and sent notices through lawyers DSK legal. The notice asked the defamatory content to be blocked." However, Gandhy said, "No one took it down and they replied saying that if there is an order from a competent authority like a court, then they would, as they cannot on their own adjudicate on the issue. So the court has to decide whether these contents are defamatory or not."
Most companies also asked them to add their parent companies, not their registered office in India to be made parties.
Gandhy further argued that Kakkad has not even denied the allegations levelled against him by Khan. Gandhy said, "They should first deny the allegations and then prove what I have said is wrong. But they have not even denied it." He further added that the right to reputation is much higher than the right to expression and gave certain citations for the same.
After hearing Gandhy for nearly two hours on Friday, Judge Laddha asked advocate Abha Singh and Aditya Pratap representing Kakkad to put forth their arguments on another day. Singh agreed, stating that she would do so on January 28. Judge Laddha said, "Let's start by 12 noon so that we can take the whole day and complete the hearing."
Salman Khan is seeking an injunction against Kakkad before a civil court in Mumbai. Kakkad owns a piece of land in Panvel which is right next to Khan's Arpita Farms. For many years, a tiff has ensued between the two.
