Kangana Ranaut summoned in Javed Akhtar's defamation case

The Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate had in December 2020 asked the Juhu Police to conduct an inquiry into the complaint filed by the lyricist against Ranaut.

The cops have submitted their report to the court, stating that offenses alleged by Akhtar are made out for further probe.

Magistrate RR Khan has since posted the matter for hearing on March 1, reports say.

For the unversed, Akhtar had lodged a complaint against the 33-year-old actor for allegedly making defamatory comments against him in an interview and dragging his name in fellow actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.

He alleged that Ranaut attempted to damage his image through such statements.

The lyricist sought action against her under the Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

To recall, Ranaut earlier claimed that Akhtar had threatened her not to speak about her alleged relationship with actor Hrithik Roshan.

His advocate Jay Kumar Bharadwaj today told the court that the police last month issued summons to the actor, but she did not respond to that.

After hearing the plea and examining the report submitted by the police, the court issued the summons.

Ranaut has been at odds with several political leaders and fellow film industry personalities since Rajput's death in June last year.

Earlier, two cases were filed against Ranaut by members of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) for allegedly passing derogatory comments against its chief Upendra Kushwaha.

A case was also filed against the actor for defaming an elderly woman amid the farmer's protest.