The Bombay High Court has rejected actor Kangana Ranaut's plea for a stay on the criminal defamation case filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar in 2020, as well as her request to combine the case with her subsequent cross-complaint against him.

Justice Prakash Naik issued the order, asserting that the proceedings could not be stayed or consolidated. This decision was based on the fact that Kangana Ranaut had not argued that the cases were cross-cases. Additionally, despite any such contention, Javed Akhtar's complaint was filed first, influencing the court's ruling.

The defamation case filed by Akhtar against Ranaut is currently in progress before the Magistrate in Andheri. However, Kangana's complaint against Akhtar has been halted by the Sessions Court. In her writ petition, the actor argued that since both cases originated from a meeting in 2016, they should be tried together.

Nevertheless, Akhtar vehemently opposed Ranaut's petition, labeling it as another deliberate effort to prolong the defamation case. He highlighted that Kangana had previously submitted nine distinct legal challenges or petitions across different courts, all of which were dismissed. Following these rejections, she submitted a counter-complaint containing what he asserted were false, fabricated, and invented allegations.

In 2016, Javed Akhtar called Kangana to his house to give some advice on his dispute with Hrithik Roshan. In 2020, Kangana said in an interview that he had threatened her for speaking on this issue and later filed a defamation case against her. After which, Kangana lodged a complaint against Javed Akhtar.

On November 3, Javed Akhtar lodged a complaint before the Magistrate, accusing Kangana Ranaut of defaming and tarnishing his "immaculate reputation." He claimed that she implicated him in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death during her interview with Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami on July 19, 2020.

She is currently facing trial under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code in this case.

In 2021, Kangana Ranaut retaliated by submitting a counter-complaint against Javed Akhtar in the Mumbai court where the defamation case is being heard. Her complaint accused Akhtar of criminal intimidation and insult to modesty under Sections 506 and 509 of the IPC, referring to an incident from 2016. According to Kangana, during the 2016 meeting, Akhtar allegedly criminally intimidated her, pressuring her to apologize to a co-star.