Kangana appears before Mumbai court in defamation case filed by Javed Akhtar

Mumbai: Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut on Friday appeared before a special court here in connection with a defamation case filed against her by veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar.

Kangana Ranaut appeared before the special magistrate court, designated to hear matters involving MPs and MLAs, in the afternoon.

Javed Akhtar had filed a complaint against Ranaut in 2020, accusing her of making defamatory remarks against him in a television interview, which allegedly damaged his reputation.

The case was initially heard by a magistrate court in suburban Andheri.

In 2024, after Ranaut was elected as an MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, the matter was transferred to a special magistrate court designated for matters involving MPs and MLAs.

While hearing Akhtar’s plea seeking issuance of a non-bailable warrant against her, the court had during the last hearing, given the actor the last chance to appear before it. Accordingly, she appeared before the court on Friday.

Further details are awaited.

In his complaint, Akhtar claimed that Ranaut dragged his name during the interview while referring to a ‘coterie’ existing in Bollywood, following the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput.