Mumbai. A Mumbai court has acquitted veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar in a defamation case filed against him over his alleged objectionable remarks about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), as the complainant has withdrawn the case. Mulund Judicial Magistrate (First Class) S. D. Chakkar disposed of the petition on November 8, approving the withdrawal of the case. A copy of the order became available on Monday.
Advocate Santosh Dubey, who claims to be an RSS supporter, had filed a complaint against Akhtar in the magistrate court in October 2021 under sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. He had alleged that Akhtar unnecessarily dragged the name of RSS in a television interview and defamed the organization in a “planned move”.
According to the complaint, after the fundamentalist organization Taliban captured power in Afghanistan, Akhtar had allegedly described Taliban and Hindu fundamentalists during a TV interview as the same. However, Dubey recently filed another petition before the magistrate to withdraw the complaint against Akhtar. The complainant told the court that “the matter has been resolved through mediation between both the parties” and hence, he “does not wish to prosecute the accused.” In view of the arguments of the complainant, the court acquitted the lyricist.