Mumbai court dismisses plea by Kangana Ranaut for transfer of Javed Akhtar defamation complaint from Andheri court

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) at Esplanade, Mumbai on Thursday dismissed an application filed by Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut seeking transfer of lyricist Javed Akhtar's criminal complaint from the Andheri court currently hearing the case, to any other Magistrate..Ranaut was seeking transfer of the complaint which Akhtar had moved before the Andheri Magistrate against Ranaut's statements aired on Republic TV, which Akhtar alleged amounted to the offence of criminal defamation under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.After Ranaut's repeated non-appearance, the Andheri Magistrate had warned Ranaut that if she fails to remain present for hearing on the next date, an arrest warrant will be issued against her.He had also granted Ranaut one last chance to appear, clarifying that a bailable warrant will be issued against her if she fails to appear.Subsequently, Ranaut approached the Additional CMM at Esplanade seeking transfer of the matter from Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan, contending that Khan was biased against her. .Ranaut had stated that the offence initiated against her was "bailable, non-cognizable and compoundable".Despite being aware of the same, the Andheri court on "every given opportunity" sought to "misuse his powers and cause injury" to Ranaut even before the commencement of trial..Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee appearing for Ranaut submitted that in a case like this it is not essential for the accused to appear in person, and a lawyer could represent her. He argued that it was unreasonable for the Magistrate to seek her presence. In addition to this, Siddiquee said that the threat by the Magistrate of issuing "non-bailable warrants" in the presence of media personnel was unfair to Kangana. .Advocates Jay Bharadwaj and Bhavya Joneja appearing for Akhtar, stated the Ranaut had filed the plea only to delay the proceedings before the Andheri Court. Bharadwaj contended that the judge was only trying to follow the procedure and the same was being challenged by Ranaut since the first day of filing of the procedure. .Bharadwaj also stated that Ranaut had been maligning Akhtar's reputation and whatever has been happening in courts has been heavily discussed by her over her social media account.He added that the Court had granted her six opportunities to appear when her lawyers sought exemption on flimsy grounds. Further, he clarified that the Court only mentioned about the warrant being issued, and it was not specified whether it would be a non-bailable warrant or arrest warrant.Additional CMM ST Dande had in an earlier hearing called for remarks from the Andheri Magistrate. After receiving remarks, Judge Dande had reserved the application for orders.The Court after considering rival contentions dismissed the plea on Thursday.Order copy awaited.