Mumbai court issues summons to Javed Akhtar over RSS comments

A Mumbai court  issued summons to veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar in connection with a defamation case filed by a lawyer over his alleged remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) made during a television interview last year. The lawyer, Santosh Dubey, had in October last year filed a complaint against the 77-year-old lyricist-poet before the metropolitan magistrate court at suburban Mulund under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).

Akhtar, in the TV interview, had allegedly drawn parallels between the Taliban and Hindu extremists in the backdrop of the radical outfit seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The complainant, who claims to be an RSS supporter, alleged the former Rajya Sabha member, with a view to score political points, unnecessarily dragged the name of the Nagpur-headquartered organisation in the row and defamed it in a "calculated and well planned manner.  

The statement made by the accused during the interview was a "well planned" move to defame the RSS as well as to "discourage and misguide people" who have joined the organisation or would like to join it, lawyer Dubey had alleged. After hearing a brief argument and on perusal of documents on record, metropolitan magistrate P K Raut issued process (summons) to Akhtar. The matter was adjourned till February 6.