Chennai: The Madras High Court has dismissed a defamation complaint filed against Rajinikanth by film financier S Mukunchand Bothra, based on the actor’s petition accusing the financier of trying to extort money from him.
The defamation complaint filed by Bothra was in connection to a civil suit where the financier claimed that he had given money to Rajinikanth’s daughter, Aishwarya’s father-in-law, Kasturi Raja.
Bothra claimed that Kasturi Raja borrowed Rs 40 lakh from him in January 2012 and Rs 25 lakh later. Bothra filed a suit for recovery of the money and contended in court that Raja had given an undertaking that Rajinikanth would clear the dues if he failed to repay the loan.
Following this, Rajinikanth filed a petition in court claiming that Bothra’s suit had been moved with an intention to extort money from him.
In reply, Bothra filed a criminal defamation case against Rajinikanth in George Town Court claiming that the actor’s remark brought him disrepute.
Subsequently, Rajinikanth sought the dismissal of criminal defamation charges against him in court and Bothra too filed a revision petition at the Madras High Court challenging the dismissal of criminal defamation.
As a response, Rajinikanth had filed a counter-affidavit stating that Bothra’s revision petition was legally unsustainable as his statements that were alleged to be defamatory were made during a pleading in civil court.
Judge Anand Venkatesh ruled that statements made during or in a pleading in a civil suit cannot be termed to be a defamatory statement unless the same is struck off by the civil court. The judge then dismissed the defamation proceedings and the case against Rajinikanth.