Defamation case: Kangana might be celebrity but she can't forget she is accused in this case, says Mumbai court

Actor Kangana Ranaut might be a celebrity having professional assignments but she cannot forget that she is an accused in a case a local court has said while refusing to grant her permanent exemption from appearance in a defamation complaint filed by Bollywood lyricist Javed AkhtarMetropolitan Magistrate R R Khan had on Tuesday rejected Ranauts application seeking permanent exemption from appearance in which she had cited her professional commitments The detailed order was made available ThursdayPer contra the accused is dictating her own terms for the trial of this case in the manner she likes Admittedly the accused cannot claim permanent exemption as of right The accused has to follow the established procedure of law and terms and conditions of her bail bonds the court said in its orderMagistrate Khan further said that till date the court has approved her exemption pleas for those dates as sought by her for previous hearings without imposing a costTill date the accused has not appeared with an intent to cooperate with the court for the trial of allegations levelled against her the order saidAkhtar filed the complaint in the court in November 2020 claiming Ranaut had made defamatory statements against him in a television interview which allegedly damaged his reputationRanaut sought permanent exemption from appearance saying she is one of the top most actresses of the Hindi film industry and she needs to travel to different parts of the country and international locations for professional commitmentsThe court however rejected her application and said No doubt being a celebrity the accused Ranaut is having her professional assignments but she cannot forget that she is an accused in this caseFor the fair progress of the trial her cooperation is essential in the matter It is pertinent to mention here that the accused has built up her mind that her presence in this case is not necessary and her advocate will look after the legal formalities the court said in the orderIf the accused is permanently exempted at this juncture then the complainant a senior citizen will be seriously prejudiced and there will be no progress in the trial it saidAkhtars advocate had opposed the application arguing that Ranaut was showing a casual attitude towards the courtThe court in its order noted that the case was for the offence of defamation in which the complainant Akhtar is a senior citizen and particulars of the offence are yet to be framedIt said Ranaut in the past made several unsuccessful attempts to challenge the earlier orders of the court regarding issuance of process and getting the case transferred to another courtthe accused has shown her interest in obtaining permanent exemption on the ground of her busy schedules Till date the accused has not appeared for framing of particulars of offence though the matter was specifically kept for her appearance for framing of particulars of offence the order saidIn his complaint Akhtar claimed that Ranaut dragged his name during an interview while referring to a coterie existing in Bollywood following the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh RajputRanaut had later filed a counter complaint in the same court against Akhtar for alleged extortion and criminal intimidationThe actor in her complaint against Akhtar said following her public dispute with her costar the lyricist had called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house with malafide intentions and ulterior motives and then criminally intimidated and threatened herThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever