Javed Akhtar, the Hindi lyricist, has filed an intervention application in actor Kangana Ranaut’s passport renewal petition before the Bombay High Court, accusing the actor of not disclosing facts in order to obtain a favourable order in the case, Bar and Bench reported.
Akhtar filed a petition on Friday stating that Ranaut’s claim, during the last hearing of the case on Monday, that there are “no criminal cases pending” against her is false and misleading since it is limited to criminal proceedings arising out of only two FIRs and did not mention the criminal defamation case filed against her by the lyricist.
Further, Akhtar stated that Ranaut should have brought this fact before the court, especially since she is completely aware that this criminal case is still pending.
On June 15, Ranaut had moved the Bombay High Court seeking directions for the renewal of her passport after the Passport Authority of India allegedly raised objections to issue the renewal due to the FIRs registered against her by the Bandra police for hateful tweets and sedition.
During the hearing of this case on Monday, the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Passport Authority of India said that Ranaut’s passport renewal application incorrectly stated that criminal cases were pending against the actor when only FIRs had been registered against her. The ASG added that if the actor made a statement that no criminal case was pending against her, and made the appropriate corrections to her passport renewal application, the Regional Passport Authority would consider the application in accordance with the rules.
Following this, the actor’s counsel submitted that “no criminal cases are pending against the petitioner in any court arising out of two FIRs impugned in the application,” and the ASG then assured that her application would be decided expeditiously.
Photo Source: Silverscreen Media Library
Javed Akhtar vs Kangana Ranaut
Akhtar, the veteran poet, lyricist and screenwriter, filed a complaint against Ranaut on November 3, 2020, under Sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code alleging that she had made defamatory remarks in an interview with Republic TV after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput by suicide on June 14, 2020.
During the interview aired on July 19, 2020, Ranaut said that some of the senior members of the Hindi film industry, including Akhtar, were part of a “gang” that was against “outsiders” in the industry.
On March 25, the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Andheri granted bail to Ranaut in the case.
