A court in Mumbai has cleared veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar of a defamation charge after the complainant decided to withdraw the case against him regarding his purportedly objectionable comments about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
On November 8, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) SD Chakkar dismissed the case following its withdrawal.
A copy of the ruling was made available on Monday.
Advocate Santosh Dubey, who identifies as an RSS supporter, lodged a complaint against Akhtar in the magistrate court in October 2021, citing sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Dubey alleged that Akhtar, during a televised interview, wrongly implicated the RSS and defamed the Nagpur-based organisation in a "calculated and well-planned manner."
According to the complaint, Akhtar supposedly compared the Taliban to Hindu extremists in light of the radical group's takeover of Afghanistan.
However, Dubey recently submitted another request to the magistrate to withdraw his complaint against Akhtar.
The complainant told the court that the "matter is settled between the parties in mediation" and therefore, he "does not want to prosecute the accused".
Hence, the court acquitted the lyricist and disposed of the case as withdrawn.
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