Gangubai Kathiawadi: Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali summoned by Mumbai court in defamation case

Gangubai Kathiawadi has been in the news as it landed in controversies. Now, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Alia Bhatt have been summoned by the Mumbai court as Gangubai Kathiwadi’s son Babu Ravji Shah has filed a defamation case against them. Also, two writers are summoned along with Alia and Sanjay. Ravji Shah claims to be one of the four children adopted by Gangubai Kathiawadi. As per a report in India Today, SLB and Alia have to appear before the court on May 21.

As per Ravji’s claims, the chapter on Gangubai Kathiawadi in Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, is defamatory and it tarnishes his mother’s reputation and violates her right to privacy and self-respect. Alia is playing the role of Gangubai in the movie.

Earlier, Ravji Shah had approached a Mumbai civil court with a civil suit that was dismissed. In the suit, he had sought a restraining order against the author from publishing the book had also asked that Gangubai Kathiawadi’s promos and trailers are not released.

After the court dismissed the suit, Shah filed a plea for criminal action against the writers and filmmaker as he claimed that the film is not based on facts and it defamed the family. The magistrate court noted that the complainant and his family are suffering from mental agony due to the book and the film’s trailer. After going through the complaint, the court found out that the complainant has made sufficient grounds to go against all the accused under section 500, 501 and 502 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code. So, the court issued summons to Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the writers.

Gangubai Kathiawadi is set to release on July 30.

Also Read: Gangubai Kathiawadi: Alia Bhatt starrer faces trouble; Congress MLA seeks a change in title