Mustn't forget you are an accused: Court tells Kangana

Mumbai: A local court on Tuesday rejected actress Kangana Ranaut's plea seeking permanent exemption from appearance before the court, citing professional commitments. Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan said that she could be a celebrity and has professional commitments, but she must not forget she is an accused, PTI reported.

In the defamation case filed by lyricist Javed Akthar in which Kangana was named, the court ruled that the accused must follow the established procedure of law and terms and conditions of her bail bonds.

Despite the court approving her exemption pleas to date, without imposing a cost, the accused has not appeared with the intention to cooperate with the court regarding the case, the court said. Meanwhile, Akhtar's advocate had opposed Kangana's application arguing that she was showing a casual attitude towards the court.

The court said that if the accused is permanently exempted, the complainant, a senior citizen, will get seriously prejudiced, and no progress will happen in the trial.

In a 2020 complaint, Javed Akhtar had accused Kangana of making defamatory remarks against him that negatively impacted his reputation. Akhtar claimed that Kangana dragged his name into her interview statement that there is a 'coterie' existing in Bollywood. This was after actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide.

Kangana, however, countered Aktar's defamation case by filing another criminal case naming him. She alleged that while she was having a dispute with her co-star, Akhtar had called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house with "malafide intentions and ulterior motives and then criminally intimidated and threatened" her.