Javed Akhtar, the veteran lyricist and poet, has sought the dismissal of the civil defamation suit filed against him by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party member over his comments comparing the right-wing organisation to the Taliban, Live Law reported.
Seeking a response from RSS member Vivek Champanerkar, who filed the suit against Akhtar, the court has scheduled the matter for hearing on February 10.
The complaint is based on an interview that Akhtar, an active commentator on Indian politics, had given to a news organisation where he had drawn parallels between the RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to the Muslim extremist and military organisation Taliban that recently took over Afghanistan.
On September 3, in an interview with NDTV, Akhtar had said that he could see an “uncanny resemblance” between the Taliban and the people in India who want to become like them. He said these people often impose restrictions on women and are keen to turn the country into a Hindu rashtra.
“The Taliban is barbaric, and their actions are reprehensible, but those supporting the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal are all the same,” he had said.
Following this, Champanerkar filed a defamation suit before Thane’s Chief Judicial Magistrate in Maharashtra seeking compensation of Re 1 and a permanent injunction against Akhtar from making any such statements against the RSS.
Champanerkar further alleged that the lyricist made derogatory remarks against the organisation. The suit stated that Akhtar’s remarks were a “mere political score in a well-planned move to set narrative against the RSS.”
In his complaint, Champanerkar also said that he would have appreciated if Akhtar criticised RSS in a “parliamentary manner” but that the “malicious” allegations compelled him to file the suit.
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Seeking dismissal, Akhtar submitted that Champanerkar does not have the locus or cause of action in his favour for the suit to be maintainable.
In the application, Akhtar also stated that the remarks in question were general in nature and were not specifically about the RSS or any member of the organisation.
The application further stated that as per Champanerkar’s own admission, Akhtar’s remarks were directed towards people who would like to join the RSS, which is an indeterminable group of persons and hence, “it does not amount to defamation at all.”
Citing parts of the suit itself, Akhtar submitted that the complaint should have been filed by the indeterminable group of persons and not Champanerkar in his individual capacity just grounded on the assumption that the remarks were against a particular class of people.