Mumbai/New Delhi: Actor Payal Ghosh on Wednesday informed Bombay High Court that she was willing to tender an apology and withdraw her comments made against co-actor Richa Chadha who has sued her for defamation and sought Rs 1.1 crore.

After hearing Chadha’s counsel Virendra Tulzapurkar and Saveena Bedi, Justice Anil Menon asked Ghosh’s lawyer Nitin Satpute to take her instructions on tendering an apology and withdraw her statements. Satpute said she was ready for both. Another party’s advocate said his client would not share any content till the next hearing on Monday.

Ghosh, who has levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, met minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy to appeal for “speedy justice” in the case.

“I will ask for intervention of the home ministry, if required. I have already met the NCW (National Commission for Women),” she said.

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Actress Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that she regrets her statement about Richa Chadha in regards to the case, and tendered an unconditional apology. Richa’s lawyers said she was ready to accept the apology. Earlier this week, Richa had filed a defamation suit before the high court against Payal for making a “false, baseless, indecent and derogatory” statement and sought damages.

On Wednesday, Ghosh’s lawyer Nitin Satpute told Justice AK Menon that Payal regrets her statement and it was not intended to defame Richa. “She (Payal) said it innocently. She is a big follower of the plaintiff (Richa) and respects her. She is ready to withdraw the statement and tender apology. She regrets whatever she said and her intention was never to defame any woman,” advocate Satpute told the court.

However, in the evening Payal tweeted, “I am not apologizing to anyone. I have not wronged nor have I given a wrong statement about anyone. I just said what @anuragkashyap72 told me. #SorryNot-Sorry (sic).”

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Hours after Payal Ghosh agreed to tender an apology before a bench of the Bombay High Court for her “defamatory” statements against actor Richa Chadha, she tweeted that she isn’t apologising to anyone. Ghosh took to her Twitter account and said, “…I have not wronged nor have I given a wrong statement about anyone. I just said what @anuragkashyap72 told me. #SorryNot-Sorry.” (sic) Meanwhile, Justice AK Menon, hearing the defamation case on Wednesday, has asked both Ghosh and Chadha to submit by October 12 their consent terms which will include an agreeable apology. Chadha’s lawyers said she won’t be pressing for Rs 1.1 crore in damages as Ghosh has agreed to withdraw her statement.

The court has also passed a temporary injunction order restraining Amoda Broadcasting Company Pvt. Ltd. and unknown persons from making any further defamatory statements against Chadha on their news channels which had first aired Ghosh’s “defamatory” interview. Following this, Chadha had filed a defamation suit on October 5. The matter is part of Ghosh’s sexual assault allegations against director Anurag Kashyap.

On Wednesday in court, Ghosh’s lawyer Nitin Satpute said the comments against Chadha were made “innocently” and that Ghosh is her “huge follower”. He sought time to file a reply, but the court refused. The bench asked him to make a statement in the afternoon session, if Ghosh would be willing to apologise.

Satpute later said in court, “My client is ready to withdraw her statement and tender an apology.” He read out her statement saying that being a woman she “always stands by other women as we live in a male dominated society”.

Chadha said she would want to continue the case against the TV channel that ran Ghosh’s interview. The actor had earlier stated that it was “evil and misogynistic” on Ghosh’s part to comment on her appearance and to “lynch” her hard-earned reputation in order to wrongfully gain publicity.