Sufficient ground to proceed against Akhtar: Court on Kangana's plaint

A court in Mumbai while issuing summons to lyricist Javed Akhtar in a case filed by actor Kangana Ranaut has held that there was sufficient ground to proceed against him for the offence of criminal intimidation.

However, no case is made out against him on charges of extortion, the court said.

Metropolitan magistrate (Andheri court) R M Shaikh on July 24 issued the summons against Akhtar, asking him to appear before the court on August 5.

Ranaut had filed a complaint against Akhtar for alleged "extortion and criminal intimidation".

The court, while issuing summons, said no case of extortion was made out against the lyricist.

Asking a person to give a written apology will not come under the definition of "valuable security" as defined under section 30 of the Indian Penal Code because no legal right is created, extended, transferred, restricted, extinguished or released," it said.

"As far as other offences levelled against the accused are concerned, on the basis of averments in the complaint, verification of the complainant and statement of her (Ranaut's) sister Rangoli Chandel," the court said.

"I have come to the conclusion that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused for offence under IPC section 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman)," the court said.

In 2020, Akhtar had filed a complaint against Ranaut, claiming that she had made defamatory statements against him in a television interview, which allegedly damaged his reputation.

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

Later, Ranaut filed a counter-complaint in the same court against Akhtar for alleged "extortion and criminal intimidation".

The actress in her complaint against Akhtar said that following her public dispute with her co-star, the lyricist had called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house with "malafide intentions and ulterior motives and then criminally intimidated and threatened" her.