Mumbai court rejects Salman Khan’s interim order request in libel suit against neighbor – Reuters

Through PTI

MUMBAI: The Mumbai City Civil Court on Friday refused to issue an interim restraining order in favor of actor Salman Khan who sued a neighbor for alleged defamation.

The Bollywood superstar has filed a civil suit alleging that Ketan Kakkad, who owns land near the actor’s farm in Panvel near Mumbai, defamed him during an interview with a YouTube channel.

Judge Anil H Laddhad ordered Kakkad to file his response and released the case for a new hearing on January 21.

Lawyers for DSK Legal, which represents Khan, have sought an interim injunction (order) restraining Kakkad from making any further defamatory statements for the duration of the trial.

But Kakkad’s lawyers, Abha Singh and Aditya Pratap, resisted the prayer, saying they only received case documents on Thursday evening and could not follow the full trial.

Attorney Singh also said there was no rush and if Khan had waited a month to file a complaint, Kakkad should have time to file a response.

Judge Laddhad then adjourned the hearing.

Khan, who lives in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai, owns a farm in Panvel in the neighboring district of Raigad.

Kakkad, also a resident of Mumbai, owns land on a hill next to Khan’s farm.

According to Khan’s lawsuit, Kakkad made defamatory comments against the actor while talking to a YouTuber.

Two other people who appeared on the show were also named as respondents.

Khan also enlisted YouTube, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and search engine giant Google, demanding that they be asked to block and remove “defamatory content” from their websites.

Khan wants a permanent order prohibiting Kakkad from posting or publishing defamatory content about the actor or his farm.