Mumbai: Bollywood veteran Javed Akhtar submitted a complaint before the Andheri magistrate court on Tuesday against actor Kangana Ranaut alleging she had made defamatory statements against him to news channels. The video of the actor allegedly making the disparaging remarks in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death had gone viral. The plea is scheduled to be heard on December 3.

The complaint, accusing Ranaut of harming Akhtar’s reputation, was submitted citing Indian Penal Code sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation). Under Section 500, whoever is found guilty of defaming another person is liable to be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or both.

Two other complaints have also been filed against Ranaut in the Andheri magistrate court for allegedly making communally charged statements. Last week, the court directed the police to conduct an inquiry after a lawyer, Ali Kaashif Deshmukh, submitted a private complaint alleging Ranaut and her sister, Rangoli Chandel, had posted defamatory and hateful statements against the Muslim community.

The same lawyer also submitted a complaint on October 22 against Kangana for allegedly making statements that incited communal disharmony, mocked the judiciary, disrespected the state government and tarnished Mumbai’s reputation by calling it ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’.

Ranaut, too, has moved Bombay high court challenging the legality of a September 9 demolition of renovation carried out at her Bandra bungalow. The civic body had said the actor was making vague and baseless allegations to obfuscate and cover up the fact that she had unlawfully and brazenly been carrying out unlawful work. The high court has reserved its judgment.

------------------------------

Mumbai: Bandra police on Tuesday issued a fresh summons to actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel in connection with the sedition case lodged against them on October 17. The case was registered on orders from the Bandra court after it took cognizance of casting director Munawwar Ali Sayyed’s complaint against Kangana and her sister. In the complaint, Sayyed referred to their tweets and other statements calling Bollywood a ‘hub of nepotism’, ‘favouritism’ etc. The complaint added Ranaut was trying to divide artists on communal lines.

He alleged Rangoli too had made objectionable comments on social media to spark communal tension.

A police officer said as per the second summons, Kangana was asked to appear on November 9, and her sister, the next day. The two reportedly skipped the previous summons as they were busy with their brother’s wedding.