Mumbai Court Rejects Kangana Ranaut's Plea To Transfer Her Extortion Case Against Akhtar Out Of Andheri Court

The court had earlier refused a similar application by Ranaut to transfer the 2020 defamation case Akhtar filed against her. An appeal against the order was filed in the sessions court yesterday.

In-charge CMM ST Dande passed the order on September 28,2021, on Ranaut's application filed under section 410 of the CrPC.

Earlier that month, Ranaut filed a private complaint accusing Akhtar of extortion and criminal intimidation by allegedly asking her to give a written apology in her public feud with actor Hrithik Roshan in 2016.

She sought transfer of the complaint on the grounds that she has already alleged bias against the Andheri Magistrate hearing the defamation case and she did not wish to proceed with her extortion complaint before the same judge. She cited the earlier transfer application.

Consequently, Ranaut sought the withdrawal and recalling of her complaint from the 10^th court Andheri to the CMM's court or to any other magistrate.

Opposing her prayer for transfer, Akhtar's lawyer Jay Bharadwaj submitted that the transfer plea was not maintainable as the Andheri Magistrate has not even heard the complaint. The application is 'preposterous' and lacks merit, he said.

Moreover, the extortion complaint is a counter blast to the defamation case filed by Akhtar earlier and therefore should be heard by the same Magistrate currently hearing the defamation case. He cited two Supreme Court judgements, Nathi lal and others vs State of UP and MP vs Mishrilal and others, and said it was a settled position of law that cross-cases must be heard by the same magistrate. Ranaut's earlier transfer plea was also dismissed, he argued.

Rejecting Kangana's earlier transfer application, in October, Addl CMM ST Dande observed that Magistrate RR Khan had acted judiciously and in fact allowed all of Ranaut's exemption applications, repeatedly rejecting Akhtar's pleas for issuance of a non-bailable warrant when she failed to appear.

"If on the basis of false allegation, the matter is transferred, it will affect the morale of Presiding Officer," the court said.

Kangana's Extortion Case Against Akhtar

Ranaut claimed in her complaint that Akthar called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house with malafide intentions and forced her to tender a written apology to Roshan by threatening her with dire consequences.

He blatantly told me that — 'by indulging in a public fight with my powerful co-star and his family', I shall be making my own life miserable because I shall be subsequently going to jail and thus will be forced to commit Suicide," Ranaut said in her Complaint.

She claimed that Akhtar, in their meeting at his house, was trying to insinuate and imply that she is not of a good moral character and that she did not complain to the police about this earlier because of her family. However, the event had left her traumatized.

In her criminal complaint before a Magistrate Court at Andheri, Ranaut has sought process to be issued against Akhtar under sections 383 (extortion), 384, 387 (Putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion), 503 (Criminal intimidation), 506, 509 (insult the modesty of a woman) read with sections 44 & 30 of the IPC.

Akhtar's Complaint

Akhtar has accused Ranaut of damaging his "immaculate reputation" by dragging his name in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death in her interview with Republic TV Anchor Arnab Goswami, on July 19, 2020.

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