Court on Kangana Ranaut’s complaint: Sufficient grounds to proceed against Javed Akhtar for criminal intimidation

Lyricist Javed Akhtar has been asked to appear before a Mumbai court regarding a counter complaint filed against him by Kangana Ranaut for alleged “extortion and criminal intimidation”.

Now a PTI report has revealed that the court, while summoning him to appear on August 5, had said that there was indeed sufficient ground to proceed against him for the offence of criminal intimidation and gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

In 2020, Javed had filed a complaint against Kangana when in an interview she accused him of threatening her after calling her to his home amid her ugly fight with Hrithik Roshan over their alleged affair. Kangana had then filed a counter complaint against Javed Akhtar.

What the court said

Metropolitan magistrate (Andheri court) R M Shaikh on July 24 issued the summons against Javed Akhtar, asking him to appear before the court on August 5. While issuing summons, the court said no case of extortion was made out against the lyricist. Asking a person to give a written apology will not come under the definition of “valuable security” as defined under section 30 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) because no legal right is created, extended, transferred, restricted, extinguished or released, it said.

“As far as other offences levelled against the accused are concerned, on the basis of averments in the complaint, verification of the complainant and statement of her (Kangana’s) sister Rangoli Chandel,” the court said. “I have come to the conclusion that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused for offence under IPC section 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman),” the court added.

More about the case

In his complaint in 2020, Javed had claimed that Kangana dragged his name during an interview while referring to a ‘coterie’ existing in Bollywood, following the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Kangana went on to file a counter-complaint in the same court against Javed for alleged “extortion and criminal intimidation”. She said in her complaint that following her public dispute with her Krrish 3 co-star, the lyricist had called her and her sister Rangoli to his house with “malafide intentions and ulterior motives and then criminally intimidated and threatened” her.