In a major blow to superstar Salman Khan, a local court in Mumbai, rejected a notice o motion filed by the Sultan star seeking a gag order to restrain his NRI neighbour from the US, Ketan R Kakkad from posting any content on social media.In the notice of motion, Khan had sought an injunction barring Kakkad from posting or uploading any content about the alleged violations of laws being committed at the actor’s 100-acre farmhouse in Panvel, Raigad.Sessions Judge A H Laddhad heard the lawyers of both sides at length at the online and in-person hearings for nearly two months and passed the much-awaited order on Wednesday.Kakkad’s legal team comprising Abha Singh, Aditya Pratap of Aditya Pratap Law Offices and Salman’s battery of lawyers including PD Ghandy and DSK Legal, argued over the matter for several weeks.
Singh and Pratap raised the plea of justification, submitting that there was “substantial truth” in the allegations levelled by Kakkad pointing how Khan had carried out substantial constructions on his Panvel farmhouse that falls within the Matheran Eco-Sensitive Zone Notification. In mid-January, a massive row erupted between the two neighbours Khan and Kakkad over the latter’s social media comments, sparking huge controversies in Bollywood and political circles as reported by IANS in “Retired NRI, ‘Dabangg’ neighbour Salman Khan lock horns” (January 16).Khan hit back with a civil defamation suit against Kakkad and dragged in Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social platform content creators as parties and also sought a gag order to restrain his neighbour from posting objectionable statements till the outcome of the suit.