RSS-Taliban remark: Mumbai court rejects Javed Akhtar’s plea against summons issued

Mumbai: A sessions court here on Monday rejected veteran lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar’s plea challenging summons issued against him by a magistrate in a criminal case over his remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Giving out an order, sessions judge Priti Kumar Ghole ruled that the summon issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate at Mulund stands is legally sound.

The case was filed by a lawyer, Santosh Dubey, in October 2021 before the metropolitan magistrate court in suburban Mulund under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).

After hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate issued a summons to the lyricist in December last year.

The 78-year-old poet filed a petition through his lawyer before the sessions court against the summons.

“The session court has rejected the revision application filed by renowned writer Javed Akhtar against the Mulund court’s order,” Dubey said. Akhtar has to appear before the Mulund court on March 31, he added.

Akhtar had allegedly compared the RSS with the Taliban during a TV interview in 2021. His controversial comments came against the backdrop of the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The complainant, who claims to be an RSS supporter, alleged that Akhtar made the statements during the interview with a view to gain political score, unnecessarily dragging the organisation and defaming it in a “calculated and well-planned move”.

The statements made by the accused were aimed at defaming the Nagpur-headquartered Hindutva organisation as well as to discourage and misguide people who have joined the RSS or would like to join the outfit, the complaint had alleged.