Mumbai court grants relief to Javed Akhtar, stays proceedings in complaint by Kangana Ranaut

A sessions court in Mumbai Thursday stayed the criminal proceedings and summons issued by a Magistrate court to lyricist Javed Akhtar in a complaint filed by actor Kangana Ranaut alleging criminal intimidation and insulting of modesty..A sessions judge AZ Khan pronounced his verdict today on a revision application filed by Akhtar through lawyer, Jay Bharadwaj, challenging the order issuing summons. Akhtar’s counsel Vrinda Grover urged the court to stay the summons order. She contended that the summons was passed by the Magistrate in a mechanical manner in a complaint filed beyond the limitation period..The sessions court agreed with the submissions and opined that if a stay is not granted, there would be several complications and a multiplicity of proceedings.Accordingly, the judge stayed the proceedings in the criminal complaint till the revision application is finally decided. He placed the revision plea for hearing on merits on October 18. .Ranaut had filed a complaint on September 16, 2021 alleging that Akhtar had invited her to his house in March 2016 to resolve an ongoing dispute with actor Hrithik Roshan. She alleged that during this meeting, there were certain utterances by Akhtar that amounted to threats and insults. Her complaint against Akhtar cited the offences of criminal intimidation (Section 506), extortion (Section 383), and insulting modesty by invading her privacy (Section 509) of the Indian Penal Code..On July 24 this year, a magistrate court at Andheri dropped the charge of extortion against Akhtar but summoned him to appear before the court in connection with the offences under Sections 506 and 509 of the IPC. .Akhtar then moved the sessions court against the same.Akhtar's counsel contended that the complaint was filed beyond the limitation period of 3 years from the incident date. Advocate Grover pointed out that the meeting in which the allegedly offensive statements were uttered by Akhtar admittedly took place in March 2016 but the complaint was filed over 5 years later in 2021. Grover further alleged that Ranaut filed this cross-complaint against Akhtar in response to his complaint against her alleging defamation. Ranaut’s date of filing the complaint was September 16, around the same time the Bombay High Court refused to quash Akhtar’s defamation complaint against her. Grover also alleged that there were inconsistencies in the words used in her complaint and those referred to in a television interview. In view of these submissions, Grover requested for a stay on the summons issued to Akhtar.“This order is a gross abuse of the law, courts are burdened including trial courts and high courts. If this (such orders) is allowed, floodgates will be opened and anybody will come with a complaint and summons will be issued. Litigation will become a wrestling match,” Grover said. .Ranaut’s counsel, advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, opposed the revision application. He pointed out that the Andheri magistrate had considered the delay in filing of the complaint.In view of this, there was no error in the order and no stay was required, he asserted. “You cannot keep filing frivolous cases and keep rushing to court or trying to confuse the court with scattered arguments. While speaking in the interview there could not have been an exact reproduction of the original words. We may have missed some things. My (Ranaut’s) case is more important than the defamation case. If the stay is granted then that will cause prejudice against all women. Just by showing certificates one doesn’t become a good man. One doesn’t call a woman in the house and say such things” Siddiquee argued. .After hearing the parties at length, the session judge dictated the order in court today and directed an interim stay on the proceedings. .Akhtar’s legal team includes Advocates Priya Arora and Harsh Ramchandani.