New Delhi: Actor Alok Nath has filed a civil defamation suit against writer-director Vinta Nanda, who accused him of sexually abusing her 19 years ago. This follows a complaint filed by his wife seeking defamation proceedings be initiated against Nanda.
News agency ANI reported that Alok Nath had filed a civil defamation suit against Nanda, demanding a written apology and Re 1 as compensation.
#AlokNath has filed a civil defamation suit against writer producer Vinta Nanda seeking a written apology and Rs 1 as compensation. Nanda had accused Alok Nath of rape #MeToo pic.twitter.com/hSMwfsRdp1
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2018
A few hours before Nath filed the case, Nanda had issued a statement saying she would legally fight any defamation suits initiated against her by Nath and his wife Ashu Singh.
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Her advocate, Dhruti M. Kapadia, in a statement, said that the “so-called defamation proceedings” had not yet been not served to her client and that her legal team would deal with the proceedings by following the due process of law.
“At the moment, we are awaiting the decisions of various associations where my client has filed her complaints, like CINTAA (Cine & TV Artists Association), SWA (Screen Writers Association) and IFTDA (Indian Film & Television Directors Association),” said Kapadia.
Alok Nath is due to reply to CINTAA by Monday evening and IFTDA by Thursday this week.
Nanda, through her lawyer, said she will decide what the the next step of actions. “It is pertinent to note that my client is further humiliated in continuity, for which we will legally take recourse. She will not be deprived of any legal help she seeks. I would also add: My client will not be intimidated by threats and defamation suits which are primarily meant to delay and distract from the gravity of the allegations,” said advocate Kapadia.
Last week, Nath and Ashu had filed a complaint in a local court seeking defamation proceedings to be initiated against Vinta Nanda for accusing him of rape. In a social media post last Monday, Nanda had alleged that the actor had raped her 19 years ago.
Nath’s lawyer Ashok Sarogi, in a press conference on Thursday, had refuted the allegations and said they were baseless and devoid of any merit.
The complaint filed by the couple says that because of Nanda’s post, which did not name Nath even though his name was subsequently outed by others, Singh and Nath have been victimised unnecessarily by way of defamation of their reputation in the society. “The complainants have suffered grave and irreparable loss, harm and injury which could never be compensated in terms of money,” the complaint read.
Also read: ‘I’m No Longer Afraid’ – Vinta Nanda on Alleged Sexual Abuse by Actor Alok Nath
In a press conference last Tuesday, Nanda said when she spoke about the incident, everyone around her told her “to keep quiet, shut up”. Thus, going to the police was not an option as it meant “reopening a can of worms which would just make it a very difficult situation.”
In addition to Nanda, actor Sandhya Mridul has also accused Nath of sexually harassing her while shooting a telefilm.
(WIth inputs from PTI)