A Mumbai court on Monday issued a bailable warrant against actress Kangana Ranaut after she failed to appear despite being summoned repeatedly in connection with a defamation complaint filed by veteran lyricist/poet Javed Akhtar.
The case dates back to November 2020 when Akhtar filed a suit against Ranaut for allegedly dragging his name into disrepute during her television news interview held after the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
In the complaint, Akhtar accused Ranaut of making defamatory remarks against him and calling him a “vulture” and a part of the “suicide gang”, thereby damaging his reputation. He also alleged that Ranaut claimed falsely that he had threatened her to keep silent about her supposed relationship with superstar Hrithik Roshan.
After the investigation by Mumbai Police, the court summoned Ranaut on 1 February, asking her to appear in court before 1 March which she failed to do.
The actress's lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee, who was present on Ranaut's behalf, told the court that Ranaut's team wish to challenge the proceedings in a higher court but didn’t file an application seeking exemption for the actress to appear before the court.
The court has now posted the matter for further hearing on 26 March.