Kangana might be celebrity but she can't forget she is accused in a case, says Mumbai court
Defamation complaint
Mumbai, Mar 24: 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 Akhtar.
Metropolitan Magistrate R R Khan had on Tuesday rejected Ranaut's application seeking permanent exemption from appearance in which she had cited her professional commitments. The detailed order was made available Thursday.
"Per 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 order.
Magistrate 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 cost.
"Till date, the accused has not appeared with an intent to cooperate with the court for the trial of allegations levelled against her," the order said.
Akhtar 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 reputation.
Ranaut 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 commitments.
The 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 case."
"For 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 order.
If 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 said.
Akhtar's advocate had opposed the application, arguing that Ranaut was showing a casual attitude towards the court.
The 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 framed.
It 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 court.
"...the 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 said.
In 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 Rajput.
Ranaut had later filed a counter complaint in the same court against Akhtar for alleged "extortion and criminal intimidation".
The actor in her complaint against Akhtar said following her public dispute with her co-star, 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" her.
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
