Javed Akhtar Case: Arrest Warrant To Be Issued Against Kangana Ranaut If She Fails To Attend Next Hearing

The legal battle between Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut is getting murkier day by day. Kangana has now failed to appear before the court yet again in an ongoing defamation case that was filed against her by Akhtar. Now the court has stated that it will be issuing an arrest warrant against the actress if she fails to appear at the next hearing which is September 20.

According to a news report in BollywoodLife, Kangana Ranaut's lawyer Rizwan Siddique had sought exemption for the actress from appearing at the previous hearing citing that she was unwell. He had presented a medical certificate of the Tanu Weds Manu Returns actress to the court that she has developed COVID-19 symptoms after she was continuously travelling to promote her latest film. The news report further stated Javed Akhtar's lawyer Jay Bharadwaj called this an excuse to just delay the legal proceedings.

Furthermore, Akhtar's lawyer stated that Kangana Ranaut has refused to appear at the hearing by some or the other pretext ever since she was summoned by the court in February earlier this year. RR Khan, the metropolitan magistrate allowed the Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi actress to be exempted from court on the previous hearing. However, according to the news report, if the actress failed to appear on the next hearing date (September 20), the court will then issue an arrest warrant against her.

Earlier on September 9, The Bombay High Court had dismissed a plea filed by actor Kangana Ranaut seeking the quashing of proceedings initiated against her by a local court on a criminal defamation complaint filed by lyricist Javed Akhtar. Justice Revati Mohite-Dere stated in the order that there was no procedural illegality or irregularity in the Andheri metropolitan magistrate's order initiating the proceedings. The Panga actress, in the petition filed through her lawyer Rizwan Siddique, had challenged the defamation proceedings initiated earlier this year, saying the magistrate's court did not independently examine the complainant Javed Akhtar or witnesses. Talking about the case, the lyricist had filed a complaint before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate, accusing the actress of making defamatory and baseless comments against him in a TV interview in November 2020.