Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar settle defamation cases after five-year legal battle
PTC Web Desk: After five years of legal proceedings, actor and MP Kangana Ranaut and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar have officially reached a settlement in their defamation cases. The agreement was finalised before the Bandra Magistrate Court in Mumbai on Friday.
Both Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar arrived at the court around 10. 30 am, accompanied by their respective lawyers, Jay K Bharadwaj and Rizwan Siddiquee. They met Magistrate Ashish Awari in his chamber, where discussions took place for over an hour before the legal representatives stepped out to finalise necessary paperwork for recording their statements.
As per the settlement, both parties have agreed to withdraw their respective defamation lawsuits. Speaking to the media after the hearing, Javed Akhtar stated, “After all these years, the matter is finally resolved. She has apologised for the inconvenience caused to me. I will withdraw my case, and she will do the same.”
Akhtar has been actively attending court proceedings for the past five years and has given his statement as a witness. Kangana Ranaut, too, had her statement recorded during the hearings.
On a humourous note, when asked if he felt relieved after the settlement, Akhtar smiled and quipped, “I will pick up a new problem now.”
The conflict dates back to a private meeting at Akhtar’s residence in March 2016, when Kangana Ranaut was engaged in a public spat with actor Hrithik Roshan over alleged email exchanges. Akhtar, known to have close ties with Roshan’s family, reportedly advised Ranaut to apologise to Roshan.
Years later, in 2020, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Kangana Ranaut referenced the 2016 meeting in a televised interview, making remarks that Akhtar deemed defamatory. In response, he filed a defamation case against her.
Kangana Ranaut then filed a counter-complaint, accusing Akhtar of pressuring her into apologising under duress. However, the Dindoshi Sessions Court later stayed this proceeding against Akhtar. Following the settlement, Ranaut clarified that her comments against Akhtar stemmed from a misunderstanding.
- With inputs from agencies
