The city civil court in Dindoshi rejected a plea on Friday which was filed by actor Alok Nath. He sought an injunction on screenwriter Vinta Nanda from speaking to the media about the allegations of sexual harassment which she has levelled on him.
Earlier, he had filed a civil defamation suit against Nanda through his wife, Ashu Singh, asking for damages of Re 1 apart from directions fron the court to bar releasing any statement publicly that would defame him.
Sessions Judge S U Baghele on Friday observed that neither Singh nor Nath could claim to having been defamed by a post that Nanda wrote on her Facebook page. In the post, she alleged that he had raped her 19 years ago.
While seeing aside the injunction plea, he also observed that as long as a person is alive, someone else, including a family member, cannot sue for defamation on his behalf.
Advocate Ashok Saraogi, who is representing Nath, had argued in court that Nanda being a screenwriter, made up the story about being raped. He also accused Nanda of accusing Nath to make money and gain publicity. He claimed that his client is a victim of a media trial.
After Nath decided to revise the criminal defamation into a civit suit, Nanda submitted a written complaint at the Oshiwara police station detailing her allegations and asking for an FIR to be registered against Nath.
Also read: #MeToo: Mumbai Court reprimands Alok Nath over absence