One last chance

A Mumbai court has given Kangana Ranaut “one last chance” to appear before issuing a non-bailable warrant against her. Kangana skipped a mediation meeting to settle her long-standing defamation case with lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar. Her advocate, Rizwan Siddiquee, claimed she was attending Parliament, but Akhtar’s advocate, Jay K Bhardwaj, pointed out her repeated absence–nearly 40 key court dates. The court directed the actor’s counsel to file a reply, opposing the warrant. In 2020, Kangana discussed in a TV interview an alleged 2016 meeting with Akhtar, which he denied and filed for defamation.