Sessions court rejects Kangana's plea seeking transfer of defamation case filed by Akhtar
The Hindu
The detailed Order passed by second additional principal and sessions judge (Dindoshi) S. S. Oza was not available immediately
A sessions court in Mumbai on March 9 rejected Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut's application seeking transfer of the defamation case filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar from the magistrate's court in suburban Andheri.
The court also refused to transfer her counter-complaint against Mr. Akhtar, filed before the Andheri court, elsewhere. The detailed Order passed by second additional principal and sessions judge (Dindoshi) S. S. Oza was not available immediately.
Ms. Ranaut had claimed in her application that the 10th Metropolitan Magistrate's Court (Andheri) showed “bias and prejudice towards her” by not granting her permanent exemption from appearance and threatened to issue an arrest warrant against her for a “bailable and non-cognisable offence." In October 2021, the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) had rejected a similar plea, following which she moved the sessions court.
Mr. Akhtar (76) filed the complaint before the Andheri magistrate in November 2020, alleging that Ms. Ranaut made defamatory statements against him in a television interview which damaged his reputation. Ms. Ranaut dragged his name for no reason while talking about the existence of a "coterie" in Bollywood against the backdrop of the alleged suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020, Mr. Akhtar said in the criminal defamation complaint.
Ms. Ranaut, on her part, filed a counter-complaint in the Andheri court against Mr. Akhtar, alleging "extortion and criminal intimidation." Following her public spat with a co-star, Mr. Akhtar called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house and "criminally intimidated and threatened" her, Ms. Ranaut alleged. Mr. Akhtar has denied the accusation.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.