Mumbai, July 22 (UNI) Kangana Ranaut, actor-turned-politician and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Mandi, has assured a Mumbai court that she will appear before it on September 9 in a defamation case field by lyricist Javed Akhtar, a lawyer said on Monday.

The undertaking in court on behalf of the MP was given by her lawyer.

After the actress failed to appear in the court on Saturday, Akhtar filed an application seeking the issuance of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Ranaut for her alleged persistent non-appearance in court.

Akhtar's lawyer Jay Bharadwaj pointed out that Ranaut had sought permanent exemption from appearance from court but her request had been rejected by the Bombay High Court.

“Despite the application of the accused (Ranaut) being rejected, she has on various dates not appeared before this court and filed exemptions and a bailable warrant was also issued against her on March 1, 2021", Bharadwaj pointed out.

Earlier, when a bailable warrant was issued, Ranaut appeared before the court.

During the hearing, Akhtar's lawyer submitted that "the accused has time and again tried to delay the court proceedings inadvertently, and there was no other way except issuing a NBW to secure the presence of the accused".

However, the court kept the application in abeyance and directed Ranaut to appear before it. Meanwhile, the actor's lawyer gave an undertaking that she would appear on the next day of the hearing, which is September 9, 2024.

UNI AAA RC