Veteran poet Javed Akhtar reached sessions court challenging a summons that a magistrate had issued against him in a case filed by actress Kangana Ranaut. He argued that the summons was issued in an improper and hurried way, which led to a “grave miscarriage of justice.”
The sessions court in the Dindoshi area has received a revision petition from Mr. Akhtar, and the case will be heard on August 8.
On July 24, Metropolitan Magistrate R M Shaikh of Andheri Court issued summons against Mr. Akhtar, requesting his appearance in court on August 5.
The magistrate dismissed the extortion accusations against Mr. Akhtar but stated that there was enough evidence to pursue criminal intimidation charges against him.
In his argument, Mr. Akhtar argued that the summons order was issued “erroneously” since it contradicted both the facts and the law.
It claimed that the magistrate committed a “grave miscarriage of justice” by failing to consider the case at hand and drawing conclusions in a “hasty and inappropriate manner.”
The plea, made by attorney Jay Bharadwaj, further argued that, at least initially, there is no evidence in the court file to suggest that the magistrate had access to enough information to make the contested decision.
“The magistrate simply proceeded on the bald and unsubstantiated averments made in the complaint without ascertaining the overall factual matrix and the judicial record,” it said.
The magistrate failed to record any justifications at all for summoning the petitioner, according to the plea.
The petition stated that the magistrate court only relied on the complainant (Ranaut) and witnesses’ verification statements, arguing that “this is clearly indicative of lack of application of judicial mind.”
“The magistrate failed to appreciate that serious prejudice shall be caused to the rights of the petitioner if he is made to face the trial in a time-barred matter, that too where the ingredients of all the sections alleged in the complaint are not applicable,” the application said.
In 2020, Mr. Akhtar (76), who claimed Ms. Ranaut had made defamatory remarks about him in a television interview that had harmed his reputation, filed the complaint.
Following the reported suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Mr. Akhtar said Ms. Ranaut had dragged his name during an interview when she mentioned a “coterie” that existed in Bollywood.
Later, Ms. Ranaut accused Mr. Akhtar of “extortion and criminal intimidation” in a counter-complaint she filed in the same court.
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