On Thursday, Bollywood actor Salman Khan's lawyer, Pradeep Gandhy, pleaded before a civil court in Mumbai in his defamation lawsuit seeking an injunction against the actor's neighbour.
According to a report by India Today, Ketan Kakkad, Salman Khan's next-door neighbour, has levelled various claims against him. Videos of the incident were extensively circulated. Salman Khan has urged the court to prevent Kakkad from defaming him and has also requested that the footage be removed off social media.
During the two-hour hearing on Thursday, January 20, Khan's lawyer contended that Kakkad's charges were irrational and personal in character. According to Khan's claim, Kakkad, an NRI based in the United States and currently residing in Mumbai, acquired a block of land in Panvel about 1995.
The site was acquired near Salman Khan's farmhouse with the purpose of erecting a home, ashram, temple, and other structures. Khan argued in the complaint that all he knows is that Kakkad's plot land allotment was annulled as unlawful by the Maharashtra government/concerned forest department."Pursuant thereto, on untenable and baseless pretexts, Kakkad started raising baseless and false accusations and allegations against him and his family members," said the suit.
Ketan Kakkad has claimed the following:
1. The plot of land allotted to him was allegedly cancelled by the forest department at his behest and in collusion with Khan.
2. The entry and exit to his plot of land were illegally acquired and blocked by Khan by constructing a gate.
3. He accused Salman of building an eco-friendly Ganesh temple. Access to the same was also allegedly blocked by Khan and the temple has been claimed by the actor.
4. Salman Khan has usurped or grabbed the said land parcels of Kakkad.
During the hearing on Thursday, Gandhy claimed that despite the low level of allegations levelled against Khan, "In a property dispute, why are you tarnishing my personal reputation? Why are you bringing in religion?" He added, "My mother is a Hindu, my father is a Muslim and my brothers have married Hindus. We celebrate all festivals."
Throughout the majority of the hearing, Gandhy read and responded to the video transcripts. Referring to the political connections being alleged against Khan, Gandhy said "I (Khan) have no political aspirations, I have never met with politicians," and replied to some more alleged allegations with "So all Muslims are bad?"
During the hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Anil H Laddha questioned the lawyers whether there was just one way to Kakkad's claimed scheme, and that was through Khan's property. While Kakkad's lawyers, Abha Singh and Aditya Pratap, stated that it was. Gandhy disputed this.
Judge Laddha sought official property paperwork or a map to verify the facts on his own. Today, January 21, the hearing will resume.
